Juan Salinas Jr., 48, of Caldwell, Idaho, was sentenced to 143 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Salinas to a lifetime of supervised release and entered an order forfeiting the electronic devices used to commit the offense. Salinas was ordered to pay $45,000 restitution to the victims in the images he possessed and will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.

According to court records, the investigation began when Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) received a report that child pornography had been uploaded to a social media account that was later identified as belonging to Salinas. In March of 2022, HSI executed a federal search warrant at Salinas’ residence in Caldwell and seized a cellphone belonging to Salinas. During a forensic examination of the cellphone, HSI located hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including files depicting infants and toddlers.

U.S. Attorney Hurwit, of the District of Idaho commended the cooperative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Caldwell Police Department, and Idaho Department of Corrections Probation and Parole, which led to charges.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Original source can be found here.