Teen charged as adult for voyeurism and child pornography
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IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls teenager is now charged as an adult for voyeurism and possession of child pornography.
Investigators received a call in January that Curtis Asa Petersen, 18, allegedly tried to trade naked pictures of a girl for a pair of Apple AirPods, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Petersen was 17 at the time of the alleged crimes but prosecutors asked the case be moved to Bonneville County’s adult court system.
Petersen is charged with a felony count of possession of child pornography and two felony counts of voyeurism, according to charging documents.
Police reports show Petersen not only tried to trade the girl for sexually explicit photos but he is alleged to have grabbed her buttocks and told her “he wanted to do things to her.”
Members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce searched Petersen’s home in January. They interrogated Petersen, who said he purchased a USB charger “spy camera” on Amazon.com to record girls in the bathroom. Petersen also told investigators he got a link to download images of child pornography from someone on the messaging app KIK, according to court documents.
Peterson reportedly told investigators he tried to trade the girl nude photos for AirPods, but she declined.
Investigators searching Petersen’s home and found a thumb drive in his bedroom with 343 images of child pornography. Court documents describe in graphic detail several videos of adults sexually abusing children as young as three. There were also several videos of a naked girl and woman inside the bathroom of an Idaho Falls home.
Similar videos of the teen and woman were found on the spy camera’s storage device, according to investigators.
Petersen is also charged in adult court for felony grand theft in a shoplifting case. He was initially placed into a juvenile detention facility but was released to juvenile pretrial services in February.
A summons was issued for Petersen to appear for an initial appearance in adult court on Friday.
Although Petersen is charged with crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted on all charges, Petersen faces up to 20 years in prison.