Man arrested for child porn also allegedly filmed himself having sex in Idaho Falls Airport tower
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IDAHO FALLS – A 39-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday after investigators reportedly found him in possession of over 300 videos and images of child pornography.
Chase Philip Hornaday was charged with five counts of distribution of sexually exploitative material and five counts of possession of sexually exploitative material.
According to a report written by a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office detective, who is also on the Idaho Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, he was assigned a cyber tip on Nov. 27 regarding images of child sexual abuse material uploaded through Kik, a mobile messaging app.
The detective states that nine videos were uploaded 41 times. They reportedly showed children between the approximate ages of 4 and 15 being raped and engaging in sexual activity.
Investigators were able to track the IP address to a home in Ammon and connect the Kik account user information to Hornaday’s phone number.
Detectives conducted surveillance on Hornaday for multiple days, where they discovered he works at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport. Through the Federal Aviation Administration, they reportedly learned Hornaday is a contractor for them.
The detective filed a search warrant for the rest of the Kik account and received the remaining data on Dec. 12.
According to the detective’s report, there were ten more videos, one that was the same as in the original findings, showing children between the ages of “less than 4 months old” and 14 years old being raped and engaging in sexual activity.
The detective ultimately found “over 60 images and videos of CSAM in Hornaday’s Kik account that depicted child and infant rape, molestation and sexual abuse.”
Reports also state detectives found over 20 images and videos of Hornaday and a woman “engaging in sexual conduct” in the air traffic control tower at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport.
City of Idaho Falls Public Information Officer Eric Grossarth says the city is aware of the allegations and is working with law enforcement.
“The individual arrested was not an employee of the Idaho Falls Regional Airport but rather a federal contractor who operates the local air traffic control tower,” says Grossarth. “The city takes any allegations like this seriously and will fully cooperate with law enforcement.”
Kik also provided the detective with recent chat messages between Hornaday and other users during November and December. In one message, Hornaday reportedly insinuates that he is going to convince a woman to steal her daughter’s underwear.
“She has a 17-year-old daughter…maybe I could get her to steal a dirty pair of her panties.”
Additionally, Hornaday reportedly talked with users about trading “pedo” images and videos of “yng.” According to court documents, “yng” is a term used when talking about child sexually exploitative material, meaning “young.”
Hornaday was stopped by a Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputy Wednesday in a parking lot of East 17th Street. He was taken to the Bonneville County Ammon Field Office, where he requested a lawyer and declined to talk with investigators.
He was then taken into custody and booked into the Bonneville County Jail.
That afternoon, detectives say they listened to multiple jail calls between Hornaday and a relative.
The relative reportedly asked Hornaday, “What was going on with you?” to which he replied, “I’ve been in pain a long time, I’ve tried to numb it, I’ve done bad things.”
The relative later said they didn’t understand, and Hornaday reportedly stated, “I didn’t want to do drugs, and this was another way to numb my pain.”
The relative told Hornaday he “should have done drugs,” to which he replied, “I should have done drugs.”
Court documents state the relative told him he was “a pedophile now” and the call cut out as time ran out.
Seven minutes later, there was another call between the two, where the relative again asks Hornaday, “why?”
Hornaday reportedly responded, “Because it helps numb the pain of anything.” The relative asked, “How did looking at naked pictures of children help?” And Hornaday responded, “That’s the conversation we can have later I don’t have much time.”
Another six minutes later, the relative asks how long it has been going on, and he responds, “Maybe a year.”
When asked how old the kids in the images are, Hornaday reportedly states “5-18.”
He then reportedly told the relative, “I can tell you more about it if you ever want to talk to me again and try to come to an understanding of why I did it because I don’t fully understand other than I slowly found it and it was shocking enough to numb the pain of every other thing that was hurting.”
Hornaday also stated, “I’ve never touched a child, I’ve never looked at a child in person, I’ve never wanted to do anything, I’ve never touched anybody.”
Detectives seized 13 devices from Hornaday, including a Samsung cell phone. On the cell phone, investigators reportedly found over 300 images of child pornography.
Hornaday was booked with a bond of $250,000 and is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 24.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Though Hornaday has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
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 1-800-843-5678.
Parents, educators, and law enforcement officials can find more information and helpful resources at the ICAC website, ICACIdaho.org.