United States of America v. Patrick Lee Jewell

Boise, ID - Jerome Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography



Patrick Lee Jewell, 34, of Jerome, Idaho, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to possession of child pornography. Jewell pleaded guilty to a one count information filed by the U.S. Attorney on January 21, 2016.



According to the plea agreement, Jewell admitted utilizing his e-mail account to communicate with an individual through Craigslist regarding the exchange of images of child pornography in November and December of 2013. In February of 2014, agents with the Department of Homeland Security executed search warrants at Jewell's residence in Jerome, Idaho, and for his e-mail accounts. Additionally, Jewell admitted possessing 61 images of child pornography in his e-mail account, and five images of child pornography on his iPhone.



Sentencing is set for June 28, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.



Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than five years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. As part of his plea, Jewell also agreed to forfeit an iPhone and a Samsung laptop computer used in the commission of the charged offense.



The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jerome County Sheriff's Office, and the Jerome Police Department, and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Guilty