Arco man arrested by task force for child porn
Published at
ARCO — An Arco man was arrested on Thursday after officers discovered he had been looking at child pornography.
Theodore S. Morin, 29, was charged with five counts of possessing child sexually exploitative material.
A detective from the Idaho Attorney General’s Office stated that on Sept. 12, an IP address linked to a trailer home in Arco connected to a network known for hosting child sexual abuse material.
Detectives were able to find multiple folders of child pornography videos connected to the server, that were titled with explicit sexual terms related to pedophilia. According to court documents, detectives found 13 images showing children and infants as young as six months old, both girls and boys, being sexually abused and raped by adults.
After tracking the IP address to the trailer home in Arco, detectives conducted surveillance on the home. In the process, they learned three men and one woman lived there.
Detectives were also able to pick up a wifi-signal from the home named, “House of Horrors.”
On Sept. 28, a search warrant was executed on the property after detectives learned Morin lived on the property in a dark-colored van. Detectives interviewed Morin, who admitted using an app to download images of child sexual abuse material.
While executing the search warrant, forensic examiners found dozens more images and videos of child pornography, including bestiality with children.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations all assisted the ICAC Unit with the arrest.
Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at (208) 947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.
The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute individuals who use the internet to criminally exploit children.
Parents, educators and law enforcement officials can find more information and helpful resources at the ICAC website, ICACIdaho.org.
Morin was arrested and booked into the Butte County Jail. His bond has not yet been set.
He appeared in court for an arraignment on Friday afternoon, but further court proceedings have not yet been scheduled.
If convicted, he could face up to 50 years in prison.
Though Morin has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.