Rigby Man Sentenced to 45 Years in Federal Prison for Producing Child Pornography

POCATELLO – A Rigby man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, the investigation began in September 2019, after an individual reported finding videos of a nude minor on an iPhone belonging to Tel James Boam, 39, of Rigby. A detective with the Jefferson County Sherriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Boam’s iCloud account. An agent with Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls searched Boam’s iCloud account and found that Boam had attempted to produce, by surreptitious recording, 36 sexually explicit videos of a fourteen-year-old child, and that Boam had possessed those videos. Testimony provided that the videos were produced with a spy camera that Boam purchased using his credit card.

Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Boam to a lifetime of supervised release, which will commence upon completing his prison sentence. Boam will also be required to register as a sex offender. A restitution hearing will be set at a later date to determine any restitution owed to the victim by Boam. Boam was convicted by a federal jury sitting in Pocatello on September 20, 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., commended the cooperative efforts of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls, and the Rexburg Police Department, which led to charges. “This type of investigative work is not easy, but our collective efforts – to protect children in need and at risk, to support juvenile victims, and to safeguard our young people from exploitation, abuse, and trafficking – have never been more urgent,” said Gonzalez. “I thank our federal and local partners for all that they did in this case, and I look forward to working with each of them to further develop and execute our child safety strategy.”

“This sentence highlights the important collaborative role HSI, our law enforcement partners, and public citizens play in protecting the community from child predators,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest. “Those that seek to exploit the most vulnerable of us, our children, have no place to hide.”

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. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals 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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