Kevin Kirkland, a 52-year-old resident of Emmett, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material, as announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott. The sentencing took place in Boise.
The investigation started when the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received CyberTip reports from a cloud storage company. A CyberTip is a report sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which shares leads about suspected online crimes against children with law enforcement agencies. It was determined by ICAC that Kirkland had uploaded numerous egregious files of child sexual abuse material to a cloud storage account. A federal search warrant allowed the seizure of Kirkland's cellphone, where additional files were found.
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford has sentenced Kirkland to 15 years of supervised release following his prison time. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution to the victims depicted in the images he possessed. Kirkland will be required to register as a sex offender.
Attorney General Raúl Labrador expressed gratitude for the efforts of the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit and its collaboration with federal partners, stating, “Their tireless work ensures that those who exploit children are brought to justice. Each successful prosecution reaffirms our commitment to protecting Idaho’s most vulnerable and holding offenders fully accountable under the law.”
Acting U.S. Attorney Whatcott acknowledged the cooperative work of the Idaho ICAC Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Emmett Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady served as the prosecutor in this case.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative from the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. As part of this initiative, various offices partner to address offenses related to child sexual exploitation. For additional information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.