POCATELLO Police have detained a registered sex offender after looking into a cybertip that claimed he had downloaded several child pornographic videos.
Zachary Gilbert, 39, faces an enhancement charge in addition to 11 felony counts of possessing child pornography.
The enhancement charge is a mandatory minimum that can increase the overall sentence by up to 15 years, according to the criminal complaint. This is because Gilbert had to register as a sex offender after being found guilty of felony sexual conduct with a juvenile in Bannock County in 2003.
A detective with Idaho’s Internet Crime Against Children Task Force started looking into a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in September, according to court filings.
There were twenty-three child porn files in the original tip.
Google and the social media app Kik were the sources of five more cybertips. According to the paper, some downloads occurred in June, but the majority occurred in November.
A few of the downloaded files, which included graphic images of child slavery and sadism, were reported to the NCMEC.
Eleven media items depicting sexual abuse of infants to youngsters up to the age of twelve are detailed in the document.
An address in Pocatello was retrieved by the Internet Protocol addresses that were supplied by the recent cyber tips.
When detectives from Pocatello Police visited the address in January, no one responded, so they were unable to determine who resided there.
On the other hand, the words “Smile More” were carved or painted on a neighboring rock. Some of the email addresses and usernames that include the same phrase are listed in the document.
Detectives investigated the residence and discovered that Gilbert, a registered sex offender on felony probation, lived there.
Detectives were informed by a former neighbor that she had handed Gilbert her internet password in return for his completing her yard maintenance.
She remembered a note from Gilbert asking to buy her router as she was leaving the region, but she didn’t make the purchase. The email address of Gilbert was given by the neighbor.
After speaking with Gilbert’s probation officer, the detective discovered that Gilbert was not permitted to use the internet. The probation officer verified that the selfie of Gilbert that Kik had taken was indeed of him.
After a search warrant was obtained for the Pocatello address in March, Gilbert was arrested and brought to the police station for questioning.
Gilbert was interviewed following the reading of his Miranda rights. He acknowledged that he was not permitted to have internet access and denied having any social media or email accounts.
According to the paper, Gilbert disputed his neighbor’s accusations of using the internet and downloading child porn.
When asked about the photo that was taken from Kik, Gilbert admitted to the police that he took the picture but did not know how it got on Kik.
After being shown the note he had left for his neighbor requesting that he purchase the router, Gilbert acknowledged writing it but said he intended to use it for online gaming.
He was sent to the Bannock County Jail for breaking his probation.
On August 5 at 9 a.m., Gilbert is expected to appear before Magistrate Judge David Penrod for a preliminary hearing.
Gilbert may not have committed these offenses, even if he has been charged with them. Until someone is proven guilty, they are all presumed innocent.
