Rigby man facing 17 federal child porn related charges
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RIGBY — A federal grand jury has indicted a Rigby man on 17 charges after he was arrested last year for video voyeurism.
Tel James Boam, 37, is charged with 16 federal felony counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and one federal felony count of possession of child pornography. Charging documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com show Boam allegedly committed the crimes between June and November 2018.
The federal indictment does not include all the details of the allegations, but court documents do indicate Boam allegedly victimized a teenage girl known to him.
The charges are likely related to an investigation into Boam that lead to his previous arrest in October in Jefferson County. He was charged with three felony counts of video voyeurism, which he planned to plead guilty to as part of a plea agreement. However, Boam withdrew the guilty plea when learning of the incoming federal charges.
Jefferson County prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the Idaho charges against Boam on Thursday to allow the federal case to proceed.
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In the original case, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies learned that a woman had discovered videos of a 14-year-old girl in the shower on Boam’s phone. Additionally, the woman stumbled upon a video of herself showering on the phone, according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
According to court documents, detectives from multiple law enforcement agencies were inspecting electronic devices owned by Boam to search for child pornography. Court documents do not detail if investigators obtained any pornographic images from those devices.
Boam was arrested by authorities Wednesday night and taken to the Madison County Jail, which is certified to house federal inmates.
If convicted, each felony count of attempted sexual exploitation of a child holds a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years. The possession of child pornography charge holds a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
No court date is scheduled for Boam to face the federal charges.