Former Jefferson County deputy sentenced on child pornography charge
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RIGBY — A 44-year-old former Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy was sentenced to federal prison for having and sharing child pornography, while pretending to be a woman online.
Caleb Sickinger was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge David Nye to 108 months or nine years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty to felony receipt of child pornography.
According to court documents, Sickinger will be credited with all time served in federal custody and will be placed in a facility that offers sexual offender treatment services, “with a preference for Englewood, CO.”
He will also be required to register as a sex offender and pay at least $21,000 in restitution, court fines and fees.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s spokesperson Jennifer Fullmer says Sickinger is a former deputy who was employed at the sheriff’s office for just over nine years, including when these crimes were committed, which, according to court documents, were Dec. 2, 2022, and Sept. 17, 2023.
Fullmer says Sickinger resigned on June 20, 2024.
Sickinger waived the grand jury process and indictment on Tuesday and agreed to be charged in federal court before pleading guilty as part of a plea agreement.
According to the agreement, Sickinger pleaded guilty in exchange for the government agreeing to “not pursue charges for the crime of production of child pornography” and instead, choosing to “recommend a guideline sentence pursuant to the guideline calculation of U.S. Probation.”
Background
Court records state that “FBI agents uncovered substantial evidence, which included (Sickinger’s) confession, that during online communications with an individual named Justin Lindstrom, (Sickinger) falsely assumed the identity of an actual person, informed Lindstrom as that person that he was engaging in the sexual abuse of children, and created — or commissioned the creation of — photo edited child pornography of an actual child, and distributed it to Lindstrom.”
Agents also wrote in court records that Sickinger “was a law enforcement officer during the commission of the crime and engaged in the criminal activity while on duty. Additionally, the person that (Sickinger) impersonated wrongly became the target of the FBI’s investigation.”
According to court documents, on Nov. 15, 2023, Lindstrom was arrested in Alabama for the crime of coercion and enticement of a minor.
Lindstrom told FBI special agents that he received images of child pornography via email from a “female friend” who lived in Idaho.
Agents examined Lindstrom’s phone and found emails between Lindstrom and the woman.
The emails reportedly included “pornographic and non-pornographic images purported to be of (the woman), multiple images of (child pornography) of one minor female, and sexual discussion about the minor female.”
In the emails, the woman refers to the girl in the child pornography as a relative.
Court documents state agents identified a person matching the images of the woman as an actual person who lives in Rigby, but she is not identified in court documents. They were also able to identify the girl.
Eventually, agents learned that Sickinger allegedly impersonated the woman by using her name and photos, according to court documents.
Agents say Sickinger’s “impersonation of (the woman) and use of the minor victim’s image initially caused the FBI to investigate the family of the woman and minor victim. The FBI did not find evidence of any wrongdoing or participation in the crime by the woman, minor victim, or their family.”
Agents found discussions about Sickinger in the emails between Lindstrom and Sickinger, who claimed to be the woman from Rigby.
This led agents to him, where they “identified (Sickinger) as a police officer living in Rigby, Idaho.”
Agents contacted and interviewed Sickinger, who reportedly “confessed that he had pretended to be (the woman) and communicated with Lindstrom.”
Sickinger told agents that he and Lindstrom were previously neighbors in Rigby before Lindstrom moved to Alabama.
He also admitted that he “knew (the woman) and minor victim” and that he “obtained non-pornographic images of the minor victim, and sent them to an anonymous individual via the internet for the purpose of digitally altering the images to appear as the minor victim engaging in sexual acts.”
He then admitted to sending child pornography to Lindstrom, according to court documents.