South Idaho man pleads guilty to possession of child pornography

BOISE, Idaho – A Jerome man pleaded guilty Aug. 30 to possession of child pornography following an extensive investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Casey Gibson, 23, admitted to receiving and viewing images of child pornography in his email account. Gibson’s sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 14 before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill. 

According to court documents, HSI special agents contacted Gibson at his residence where he consented to a search of his phone and email account. During the search, special agents identified an electronic device that had accessed a website based in Russia containing child pornography. Web posts offering to trade images of child pornography were also linked to Gibson.

HSI special agents discovered Gibson used his email account to receive, distribute, and possess images of child pornography. Evidence included 11 images and one video of child pornography, some depicting prepubescent minors under the age of 12.

The case was investigated in coordination with the Twin Falls Police Department.

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.