Blackfoot man gets prison time after admitting to having over 600 files of child pornography
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BLACKFOOT – A 26-year-old man was sentenced to prison Monday after pleading guilty to possessing a large amount of child pornography.
District Judge Darren Simpson sentenced Devin Thomas Balmer to a minimum of four and a maximum of 10 years in prison, according to a news release from the Office of the Attorney General.
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Balmer was also ordered to pay reimbursement to Bingham County and will have to register as a sex offender.
Balmer initially pleaded not guilty to ten felony counts of willfully possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material. He later signed a plea agreement, agreeing to plead guilty to two charges in exchange for the prosecution dropping the remaining counts.
According to the court documents, on Aug. 3, 2023, a law enforcement officer from the Idaho Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit was assigned to investigate a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Investigators had reportedly found uploaded files that included child pornography from a man later identified as Balmer.
After further investigation, officers discovered approximately 668 files, 23 of them videos. Two separate Gmail accounts were also used to upload the files.
On Nov. 8, with assistance from the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, the Blackfoot Police Department, the ICAC Unit, the Pocatello Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations, a search warrant was executed at Balmer’s residence.
During the search, officers found a computer containing hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material and child sexual exploitative material, according to court documents.
There were multiple videos showing children as young as 10 years old, with some of the files dating back to Oct. 17, 2021, documents said. Additional electronics were seized at the scene.
Balmer was taken to the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office for an interview. He answered a few questions without an attorney about where he lived, documents said. The interview was concluded once officers began to ask him about his email accounts, and he requested an attorney.
Balmer was arrested and booked into the Bannock County Jail.