Twin Falls man sentenced to prison for receiving child porn from Idaho Falls woman
Published at | Updated at
Editor’s note: This story contains details of a sexual nature that may be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
TWIN FALLS — A Twin Falls man was sentenced to prison in a federal case after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting child pornography.
On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Nicholas Glenn Baker, 37, to 24 years in federal prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Baker was indicted in October on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor child, one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
RELATED | Three indicted after Idaho Falls woman allegedly made child porn and sent it to two men
He accepted a plea agreement on March 14, where he agreed to plead guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and admit to an asset forfeiture allegation.
According to court records, on July 17, 2023, detectives with the Idaho Falls Police Department and the Idaho Crimes Against Children Task Force began an investigation after receiving a report that child pornography had been uploaded to an online file storage account.
The video allegedly showed an adult raping a young child who was between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.
Officers also found videos taken on Snapchat of a 2-year-old in sexual positions.
Detectives determined that the accounts belonged to Rexanna Marie Johnston, 32, of Idaho Falls.
They obtained and executed a search warrant on Johnston’s residence and electronic devices, where they discovered the videos had been taken of an young child who was in her custody.
Officers determined the mother was incarcerated in Idaho from July 21 to Aug. 2, and the child was being taken care of by Johnston during at least part of this time.
Detectives found online chats between Johnston and Baker, discussing their sexual interests in children. Johnston also sent Baker child pornography images she had produced of the child in her custody.
Baker asked Johnston to produce additional child pornographic images of the child and send them to him, and authorities say she did.
Johnston pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation charges on May 22 and is awaiting sentencing scheduled for Nov. 19.
When detectives arrested Baker, he admitted that he knew the infant in Johnston’s custody was a real child, that he requested Johnston produce and send him child pornography images of the child, and he received those images.
“Our job, as HSI special agents or in working through our many partnerships, is to protect the most vulnerable. This 288-month sentence helps to accomplish that,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer in the release. “Every image of child exploitation represents a life that has been altered by a child predator, and as a community we can be ever more vigilant to reduce the amount of these images that are distributed online.”
Senior U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered that Baker serve a lifetime of supervised release following his prison sentence. Baker will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.
Dale John Hensel, 53, of Rigby, is another defendant in this case. Hensel also allegedly “unlawfully and knowingly” received child pornography from Johnston.
He was indicted on one count of receipt of child pornography and is scheduled for a jury trial on Oct. 28.