Two east Idaho men plead guilty to transporting child pornography
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The following is a news release from The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
POCATELLO – Two eastern Idaho men pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography Monday.
Buster Locklear, 39, of Blackfoot, and Christopher Holtry, 41, of Pocatello, were charged in separate cases, according to U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis.
According to Locklear’s plea agreement, between February and August 2017, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 16 reports of child pornography being uploaded to internet utilities and websites related to two of Locklear’s e-mail accounts. In some instances, Locklear registered for the online utilities and websites in his own name. When federal agents reviewed Locklear’s Google accounts, they found 239 files containing child pornography, including 13 videos and 226 images.
Federal agents also searched Locklear’s residence and seized a number of electronic devices. Forensic analysis of the devices resulted in the discovery of additional child pornography files. When combined with the Google accounts, agents found a total of approximately 16,311 images and 306 videos of child pornography. Investigators identified 1,603 images and 24 video files from the defendant’s collection as belonging to 166 known series of child pornography images, wherein the victims have been previously identified by law enforcement.
According to Holtry’s plea agreement, Homeland Security Investigations received an investigative lead from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre regarding users of a chatroom called “Tabou5.”
In the chatroom, a user shared an image of child pornography and made assertions that the female child depicted in the image was his daughter. The internet protocol addresses associated with the chatroom user’s online activity were registered to Holtry at his Pocatello residence. When law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Holtry’s residence, they seized a number of phones and computers. A forensic search of these devices revealed 134 images and 20 videos of child pornography. In an interview, Holtry admitted to uploading and receiving child pornography. He estimated having viewed and possessed approximately 1,000 images of child pornography.
The charge of transportation of child pornography is punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of supervised release of five years to life.
Sentencings for both men are set for Aug. 27 before U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case against Locklear was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Blackfoot Police Department, the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, and the Idaho Department of Correction.
The case against Holtry was investigated by HSI, with the assistance of the Pocatello Police Department and the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.