Man arrested after police find 245 videos and images of child porn
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Editor’s note: This article contains disturbing content of a sexual nature. Discretion is advised.
IDAHO FALLS – A 43-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after investigators say they found at least 245 videos and images of extreme child pornography on his cloud account.
Jason Bergener has been charged with five counts of felony possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material.
On Oct. 10, a detective with the Idaho Falls Police Department was assigned to investigate a cyber tip alleging that 15 videos were uploaded to a cloud account in Idaho Falls and potentially contained child sexual abuse material.
The videos reportedly showed children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years old being raped by adults and forced to engage in bestiality, according to court documents.
The detective was able to find nine more videos, which also contained child pornography.
Later, the detective uncovered 245 more files. The detective “examined a majority of the files and found that all of the files (the detective) viewed contained (child sexual abuse material).”
Through a search of the phone number used on the cloud account, identified the person viewing the content as Bergener.
According to the police reports, Bergener is already a registered sex offender. Court records show that Bergener was convicted of felony statutory rape of a female under 18 in Kootenai County in 2005.
On Oct. 12, the detective was granted a search warrant for Bergener’s Synchronoss personal cloud account. The same day, the detective and a deputy with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office went to Bergener’s home.
They spoke to a relative, who confirmed Bergener lived in the basement of the house and was “here most of the time.” However, the relative said he was in Arizona for work.
The deputy then called Bergener’s cell phone and left a message saying he needed to contact him about his sex offender registration.
On Oct. 23, the detective received a response from the search warrant for Bergener’s cloud account. According to the police report, it contained “several .zip files” containing the contents of the cloud account.
The first folder reportedly showed a photo of a man in a baseball cap and an orange safety vest. When compared to a photo of Bergener, the detective says it appeared to be the same person.
Another 14 folders reportedly contained child sexual abuse material, showing children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old being raped and abused by adults.
Bergener was arrested on Tuesday and booked into the Bonneville County Jail with a bond of $500,000.
According to a news release from the state Office of the Attorney General, the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho Falls Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit with the arrest.
Bergener is expected to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 14. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.
Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to contact local police, the Attorney General’s ICAC Unit at (208) 947-8700, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.
The Attorney General’s ICAC Unit works with the Idaho ICAC Task Force, a coalition of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, to investigate and prosecute those who use the internet to criminally exploit children.
Parents, educators and law enforcement officials can find more information and helpful resources at ICACIdaho.org.
Though Bergener has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.