Man sentenced to 11 years for possession of child pornography

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – A 48-year-old Caldwell man was sentenced to 143 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced Thursday.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Juan Salinas Jr. to a lifetime of supervised release and entered an order forfeiting the electronic devices used to commit the offense. Salinas was ordered to pay $45,000 restitution to the victims in the images he possessed and will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.

According to court records, the investigation began when Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) received a report that child pornography had been uploaded to a social media account that was later identified as belonging to Salinas. In March of 2022, HSI executed a federal search warrant at Salinas’ residence in Caldwell and seized a cellphone belonging to Salinas. During a forensic examination of the cellphone, HSI located hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including files depicting infants and toddlers.

U.S. Attorney Hurwit, of the District of Idaho commended the cooperative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Caldwell Police Department, and Idaho Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, which led to charges.