Cd'A man sentenced for possession of child porn

COEUR d'ALENE - Brian Daniel Rowe, 28, of Coeur d'Alene, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. 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 victims. He pleaded guilty to the charge on May 29.

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. "(Thursday's) sentence shows that those who sexually exploit our children will spend significant time in prison."

The case was investigated by the Idaho Attorney General's Office, Meridian Police Department, Coeur d'Alene Police, Nampa Police, the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Secret Service.