A Nampa man has been sentenced to three years -– and up to ten years -- in prison for three counts of possessing sexually explicit materials on his home computer.
Arthur Chavarria, 30, was sentenced Monday by Judge Davis F. Vandervelde. Chavarria was also ordered to register as a sex offender, submit a DNA sample, and have no contact with any minor children.
According to a news release from the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force received a tip last December from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Chavarria’s Twitter account was trading child porn. ICAC executed a search warrant on Twitter and recovered “over forty images depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexual acts,” the release said.
An ICAC investigator also began an undercover on-line chat with Chavarria, posing as a 14-year-old girl. “Chavarria sent her two images of child pornography, then showed up at the Karcher Mall in Nampa with the intention of engaging in sexual contact with her. A subsequent search of Chavarria’s phone revealed
hundreds of images of child pornography,” the release stated.
“You have admittedly possessed multiple horrific images depicting prepubescent children,” Judge Vandervelde said at the sentencing hearing. “You perpetuated the child pornography industry and revictimized these children. I do believe you need treatment but also believe there has to be a punishment and society has to be protected.”
“Child pornography is one of the most troublesome crimes. As we saw in this case, it likely leads to further victims closest to the sexual predators” said Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor. “This case is a reminder for all of us, as we enter the holiday season to be vigilant to protect our children and mindful of who they are talking to in the cyberworld.”
