Meridian man sentenced after detectives find hard drive containing child porn in video game console
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The following is a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho. Stock image
BOISE — James Stewart Maxheimer, 46, of Meridian has been sentenced in United States District Court to 72 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.
According to the plea agreement, between May and June of 2016, detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force downloaded images of child pornography from the defendant’s computer using a peer to peer network.
On July 13, 2016, ICAC detectives served a search warrant at the defendant’s residence in Boise. They discovered an external hard drive hidden in an “Asteroids” video game console, and two laptop computers. The defendant admitted downloading images of child pornography using the peer to peer network on his computer, and to storing the images on the external hard drive. In all, detectives discovered 10,172 images and 378 videos depicting child pornography, including images of infants, toddlers, and children subjected to sadistic and masochistic conduct.
Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Maxheimer to pay $5,100 in special assessments and forfeit the external hard drive and two laptop computers used in the commission of the charged offense. As a result of his conviction, Maxheimer will be required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.