Cd'A sex offender pleads guilty to new offense

Jeremy E. Durkin, 35, of Coeur d'Alene, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to use of a facility of interstate commerce to transmit information about a minor, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

According to the plea agreement, the matter came to the attention of law enforcement on Sept. 23, 2010, when, during routine cell search at the Idaho State Correctional Institution, a correctional officer found a letter on Durkin's bunk, which referenced a Yahoo email account. The letter, written by Durkin, referred to the intended recipient as "you sexy sixteen-year-old." In the letter, Durkin is asking someone he referred to in the greeting as "my Love," to keep his (Durkin's) Yahoo email account active by logging on to it once a month and deleting all incoming mail. The letter further states: "This way I wont loose [sic] all the photos have up there. I don't really want to ask anybody else cuz there is naked photos of you that I don't want anybody to see."

The FBI identified the victim as a high school student in Oregon. When interviewed, the youth told investigators that Durkin initiated contact in December 2009 via Facebook. The victim further stated that Durkin (who was not known by the victim prior to that time) persuaded the victim to call him at a telephone number in Idaho. The two spoke telephonically and "hit it off," according to the victim. Durkin initially gave a false name, but not long after they met online, told the youth his true name. According to the victim, Durkin knew the teenager was 15 years old at the time.

According to the victim, from December 2009 until the summer of 2010, Durkin was in constant contact via email, telephone and U.S. Mail. The youth described their relationship as being almost immediately romantic and sexual, and said they exchanged sexually explicit photos. A search of Durkin's Yahoo! account confirmed the allegations. The two never met in person; their relationship was entirely via telephone, email and U.S. Mail.

In 2005, Durkin pleaded guilty in Kootenai County to one count of lewd conduct with a child under age 16. He was on parole and out of custody at the time the incidents occurred that resulted in the new federal charges. Durkin's parole was revoked in 2010 and he was returned to prison. He is currently serving a state prison sentence on the Kootenai County case and is scheduled for release in 2016.

The federal charge of using a facility of interstate commerce to transmit information about a minor, when committed by a person convicted of a prior sex offense, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to lifetime supervised release.

Sentencing is set is for Dec. 2 before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.