Coeur d’Alene Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Offense

COEUR D'ALENE—Brian Daniel Rowe, 28, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in United States District Court to 33 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for possession of sexually explicit images of minors, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley also ordered Rowe to pay $1,500 in restitution to the victim. He pleaded guilty to the charge on May 29, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, Rowe admitted that in July 2012, he possessed a computer and a smart phone that contained more than 3,500 sexually explicit images of minors. When interviewed by investigators, Rowe admitted to downloading sexually explicit images of minors for years. Authorities were alerted to Rowe’s illegal behavior earlier in 2012, when they received information that Rowe was making child pornography available to others on an Internet peer-to-peer network. Investigators subsequently executed a search warrant at Rowe’s residence and seized computers and his smart phone.
“Those who victimize children by possessing and distributing images of children being sexually abused will be identified, investigated, and prosecuted,” said Olson. “Yesterday’s sentence shows that those who sexually exploit our children will spend significant time in prison. I commend the cooperative federal, state, and local law enforcement effort that brought Brian Rowe to justice.”
The case was investigated by the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, Meridian Police Department, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, Nampa Police Department, Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and United States Secret Service. The agencies are members of the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a statewide coalition of local, state, and federal law enforcement and prosecution agencies focused on apprehending and prosecuting individuals who use the Internet to criminally exploit children. For more information about the Idaho ICAC Task Force and a list of participating agencies, visit www.icacidaho.org.
This case 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.”