Idaho man sentenced to 25 years on federal child pornography charges

BOISE, Idaho – A Nampa man was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for sexual exploitation of children, following an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in conjunction with the Nampa Police Department.

Fernando Morales, 50, was initially contacted by the Nampa Police Department in August after a 16-year-old living at his residence called 911. According to the plea agreement, the minor victim informed officers that Morales had nude images on his cell phone of sexual contact with the minor.

“This prison sentence ensures that Morales will never again be a threat to children,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez. “His conduct caused unimaginable harm to this child victim. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our local, state and federal partners, will vigorously prosecute those who harm the children of this community.”

Court records detail an interview involving Nampa Police detectives and Morales where he admitted having sexual contact with the minor on several occasions beginning around June 2015 in El Paso, Texas. Morales further admitted to recording videos and pictures of himself and the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct and saving those files on his cellphone. Last July, Morales, the victim, and two other children moved to Nampa.

An HSI computer forensics expert analyzed several electronic devices Nampa Police detectives seized from Morales. That analysis resulted in the discovery of 23 videos and 21 still images of the victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Of those files, 19 videos and all of the still images depicted Morales engaging in sexual misconduct with the victim. Two videos and nine still images contained data showing they were produced in Texas and transported to Idaho.

The investigation was conducted with assistance from the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office.

The charges in this case are a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.