Attorney implies government conspiracy after man is sentenced to 45 years in prison for child pornography
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POCATELLO — A Rigby man who was convicted and sentenced for child pornography in federal court maintains he did not commit the crime.
On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Tel James Boam, 39, to 45 years in federal prison after a federal jury convicted him of 16 counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child and a single count of possession of child pornography. The trial ended in September at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
“Mr. Boam was charged and convicted of crimes he did not commit,” Robin Dunn, Boam’s attorney, said in a statement to EastIdahoNews.com. “He can only hope that he receives justice on appeal. The word ‘justice’ is elusive and really not part of our judicial system. Beware the current government.”
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The investigation into Boam unfolded in 2019 after a woman said she found videos of a 14-year-old girl in the shower on Boam’s phone. At trial, federal prosecutors showed that both local and federal investigators discovered Boam tried to record 36 sexually explicit videos of the teenager with a spy camera bought on Amazon using his credit card.
Despite the evidence prosecutors had, Dunn tells EastIdahoNews.com that Boam took two polygraphs that indicate he did not commit the crimes. Dunn also claims Boam was not allowed to present rebuttal evidence at the trial, and a search of over 24 additional electronic storage devices belonging to Boam did not show any child pornography.
“You will probably not be surprised as you have watched the innuendo from government proceedings on impeachment, law and order, and other happenings in our government,” Dunn said. “Our constitution and civil rights are being eroded. Be careful in your social media, your chat, your posts on face book (sic). Big brother is watching.”
After Boam’s conviction, he asked for a new trial, but court records show Winmill denied the request.
Once Boam is released from prison, he is ordered to spend the rest of his life on supervised release. Boam will also have to register as a sex offender and after a future hearing, he could be ordered to pay restitution.
“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,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez Jr. said in a news release. “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.”
