Pocatello man faces multiple sex abuse charges after police find CSAM on his phone
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POCATELLO– A Bannock County man reported for inappropriate conduct with a minor is facing multiple charges after police say they found him to be in possession of child sexual abuse material.
Wayne Edward Lish, 52, has been charged with three counts of sexual abuse of a child–solicit, one count of sexual abuse of a child–witness, two counts of sexual battery of a minor, and five counts of possession of sexually exploitative material.
Initial investigation
Court documents say that on Oct. 16, 2025, officers with the Pocatello Police Department received a report of a 51-year-old man engaging in a suspicious relationship with a minor. Officers reached out to the reporting party, who said their underage nephew had been hanging out with a teenage girl and a man — later identified as Lish — who he claimed kept rubbing the teen girl’s shoulder and saying he loved her.
The nephew had also allegedly seen inappropriate texts from Lish on the teen girl’s phone.
On Oct. 17, 2025, at nearly 2 a.m., officers initiated a traffic stop on Lish’s vehicle. Court documents say Lish was with two underage females at the time, one of whom was identified as the potential victim from the report made the day before.
Officers interviewed both juveniles and said and the girl alleged to be the victim reported that Lish was the friend of her mother’s boyfriend and that Lish frequently gave her rides. When asked if there were any sexual interactions between her and Lish, the teen said no but then began to cry, documents report.
In further talks with police, the teen told law enforcement that Lish said things to her that made her feel “forced to go with it because I (the victim) don’t have any other option to because of a car,” documents state.
The teen further explained that her mother did not have a car and that Lish had said things in the past that scared her, according to the documents. Police say she also told them that Lish had grabbed her butt in the past.
Officers proceeded to speak with Lish, who they say denied having an inappropriate relationship with the alleged victim. After the conversation, the officers decided to seize the teen girl’s phone as evidence before they took her and her friend home.
Interviews with Lish
On Oct. 20, 2025, Lish was contacted via phone call by officers from the Pocatello Police Department and asked to come in for an interview. During the phone call, Lish, unprompted, allegedly told officers, “I would never have sex with a (minor). I would never do that.”
He then added, “I might be teasing sex-wise and stuff with her, but I would never try down and screw around with her or nothing,” court documents say.
During the phone call, police say Lish also admitted to exposing himself to the teen girl and claimed that she had taken photos of his genitals. Lish also claimed the girl had asked him to expose himself, police said.
On Oct. 21, 2025, Lish went to the police department for an interview, during which he told law enforcement he primarily communicated with the girl through Snapchat and text, court documents state. Police say he also admitted to engaging in sexually suggestive joking with the teen, but they said he denied having any physical interactions with the girl.
During the interview, officers discussed the incident of Lish exposing himself and, according to the police report, Lish told them he had shown the teen his genitals after she had been “persistently asking.” In addition, police say Lish told them he provided the girl with an allowance of approximately $200.
Court documents state law enforcement asked Lish if he had ever seen the teen nude, and Lish reportedly spontaneously responded, “I erased all her pictures.” Later, police say he added that the girl had been clothed in the photos and that he had deleted them to free storage on his phone.
Officers obtained consent to search Lish’s phone, but when they asked to access the Snapchat account, they said Lish told them his phone performed an automatic reset.
At the end of the interview, law enforcement took Lish’s phone as evidence to recover the deleted data and prevent further evidence from being deleted.
Court documents state that law enforcement conducted a forensic review of the contents on Lish’s phone, and that Lish contacted the Pocatello Police Department several times to ask about the investigation and when he would get his phone back.
Investigators said they found inappropriate text correspondence between Lish and the teen girl. From the texts, police said they determined Lish had withdrawn financial support to the teen after she had refused his sexual advances. In court documents, the officers say Lish explicitly linked the money to sexual advances.
In addition, the documents say police found 128 illicit images on Lish’s phone that portrayed “age-difficult individuals” — individuals whom law enforcement believes may be below the age of 18 — 71 images of “old men” engaging in illicit actions with “age-difficult females,” and 37 images of male genitalia.
Court documents say five images found on Lish’s phone were child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, and several of the illicit photos found on the phone are believed to be of the teen girl.
Lish was arrested Sept. 12. If found guilty of the charges, he faces a potential sentence of up to 200 years confinement and may be required to pay fines of up to $350,000.
Lish has been appointed a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender’s Office does not comment on active cases.
Lish is set to appear in court Sept. 23 for a preliminary hearing.
Although Lish has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.