BOISE, Idaho (Press Release) –William Roger Wilkinson, 54, of Shoshone, Idaho, was sentenced today to 130 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting an eight-year-old child on three occasions by using her to produce sexually explicit images, possessing child pornography and accessing child pornography with intent to view, U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson announced.

Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Wilkinson to a term of supervised release of five years, and entered an order forfeiting Wilkinson's interest in his former Shoshone home and real property where the child pornography was produced, and the electronic equipment used to commit the offenses.  The proceeds of the forfeiture will be used to satisfy the Court's order of restitution to the victims of the offenses, which totals $155,766.36.  Wilkinson was convicted by a jury on October 29, 2015, after a five-day trial.

 

According to the evidence presented at trial, the investigation began in May 2013, after an eight-year-old child disclosed that Wilkinson had taken sexually explicit pictures of her.  Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Wilkinson in May 2013, and searched his home in Shoshone, Idaho.  During the investigation, Wilkinson was released on bond, but a warrant was issued for his arrest after the investigation revealed child pornography on a desktop computer taken from his residence.  Wilkinson fled his place of work in Twin Falls, Idaho, when deputies attempted to arrest him on November 2, 2013.  The United States Marshal’s Service Fugitive Task Force in Salt Lake City, Utah, arrested Wilkinson on November 12, 2013.  The FBI obtained a warrant to search the truck Wilkinson had driven to Utah and found a laptop computer and other evidence.

 

A forensic examiner from the FBI’s Intermountain West Regional Computer Forensics Lab located images on both the desktop computer and the laptop computer depicting Wilkinson and the eight-year-old child engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  That evidence showed that on November 3, 2012, on December 9, 2012, and on March 3, 2013, Wilkinson knowingly used, persuaded, or coerced an eight-year-old child to take part in sexually explicit conduct and produced visual depictions of that conduct.   Data imbedded in the digital photos showed that they were taken at Wilkinson’s home in Shoshone, Idaho.   The evidence further showed that Wilkinson searched for, and viewed, websites containing child pornography on his desktop computer.

 

"Appropriately, Mr. Wilkinson will spend the rest of his life in federal prison, where he can no longer directly harm his young victim or pose any further threat to children," said Olson.  "This sentence sends the strong and clear message that those who prey on the most vulnerable among us will face sure and stern punishment."

 

The case was investigated by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Idaho and Utah, and deputies from the Lincoln County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Department and the United States Marshals Service.

 

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.”

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