Idaho man sentenced to 39 months for child pornography

POCATELLO, Idaho — An Idaho Falls man was sentenced Thursday to 39 months in federal prison and 15 years' supervised release for possession of child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office.

Daniel Joseph Dalton, 38, pleaded guilty in January to possessing sexually explicit images of minors. He was reported to police by a computer technician who discovered more than 300 videos of suspected child pornography on Dalton's computer, which he had dropped off at a local computer repair shop.

When interviewed by a Bonneville County Sheriff's detective, Dalton admitted to downloading sexually explicit images of children using peer-to-peer file sharing software. Dalton also admitted that he was responsible for the child pornography that police found on an external hard drive at his residence.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 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 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

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