Man charged in Bingham County with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child
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TERRETON (Courtroom Insider) — A Jefferson County man has received criminal charges following an investigation that allegedly found he was in possession of child sexual abuse material.
Yeims Oliver Benitez Zaragoza, 20, has been charged with ten counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
Court documents say a detective with the Idaho Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and on Nov. 18, 2025, detectives opened an investigation.
The tip included contact information, such as an email and phone numbers, that were allegedly later linked to Zaragoza, as well as two IP addresses located in Bingham County.
In addition, the tip included 30 files that were reviewed by law enforcement and were reportedly found to contain child sexual abuse material. Court documents say some of the victims depicted in the abuse material were as young as one or two years old.
Detectives reportedly obtained data from Google to identify Zaragoza, including photos of him, a video of his former residence, and other identifiers.
On Aug. 20, court documents say law enforcement initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that Zaragoza was previously known to drive. Although the driver was not Zaragoza, the driver confirmed that the phone numbers listed in the tip belonged to Zaragoza and told law enforcement where Zaragoza was living in Jefferson County.
A detective from the Idaho Falls Police Department and a detective with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office located Zaragoza outside his apartment complex and attempted to detain him. Zaragoza allegedly resisted and was able to flee from the detectives back inside his apartment.
A search warrant was reportedly obtained for Zaragoza’s new residence, and after several announcements, Zaragoza exited the residence without incident.
Detectives spoke with Zaragoza at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, where Zaragoza allegedly told law enforcement that while he did view pornography, all of the material he viewed featured individuals of legal age.
Zaragoza allegedly told law enforcement that he received links to pornographic material on apps like WhatsApp, and that he may have clicked on a link containing child sexual abuse material.
Following the interview, Zaragoza was placed under arrest and booked into the Bingham County Jail. Despite being arrested in Jefferson County, Zaragoza is charged in Bingham County because the alleged crimes listed in the tip were committed at addresses in Bingham County.
If found guilty of the charges, Zaragoza may face up to 100 years in prison and may be required to pay fines of up to $100,000.
Zaragoza is being represented by a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender’s office does not comment on pending cases.
He is set to appear in court on Sep. 3 for a preliminary hearing.
Although Zaragoza has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.