BOISE – Gregory Boris, 27, of Ontario, Oregon, was sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, on November 22, 2019, Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), along with state and local law enforcement, conducted an undercover internet-based child exploitation operation in Ada County. During the operation, Boris began communicating with an undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old girl. During the communications, Boris engaged in sexually explicit conversation with the purported 13-year-old and requested sexually explicit images. Boris also distributed images and videos of child pornography to the purported 13-year-old. HSI and local law enforcement later executed a search warrant at Boris’ Ontario residence and seized the cellphone he used to communicate with the undercover detective, as well as his laptop. A forensic examination revealed child pornography on the laptop.
Chief United States District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Boris to serve 20 years of supervised release following his prison sentence, to forfeit the electronic devices that were used to commit the offense, and to pay $27,000 in restitution to the victims in the images he possessed. As a result of the conviction, Boris will be required to register as a sex offender.
“There is no higher calling for law enforcement than to protect children, and this case shows how we work effectively across state lines and with our state and local partners to remove child predators from our communities,” U.S. Attorney Hurwit said. “We will continue to devote the resources necessary to make our Project Safe Childhood program one of the best in the country.”
“The conduct that Mr. Boris chose to engage in has no place in our society, and I’m thankful for the successful partnerships our agents have developed with law enforcement agencies in Idaho and Oregon to pursue child predators wherever they may lurk,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “This sentence is a valuable piece in protecting our communities, and a reminder that our combined vigilance is necessary to further defend children from exploitation.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit, of the District of Idaho commended the cooperative efforts of HSI, Idaho State Police, Rupert Police Department, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, and Malheur County District Attorney’s Office which led to charges.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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