Man who let neighbor borrow Wi-Fi federally indicted for child pornography
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POCATELLO — A Pocatello man now faces a federal charge after a neighbor borrowing his Wi-Fi tipped investigators about child pornography.
Jeffrey Mckie, 40, had been charged in Idaho with five felony counts of possession of sexually exploitive material. Prosecutors dropped the charges when a federal indictment for a single charge of possession of child pornography came down Nov. 10.
With the state charges, Mckie was facing up to 50 years in prison, sentences are frequently much less than the maximum after plea agreements and other factors. With the federal charge, Mckie faces up to 20 years in federal prison and five years to life of supervised release after incarceration.
According to the Idaho charging documents, detectives were tipped off by a neighbor who borrowed Mckie’s Wi-Fi. The neighbor said several folders of child pornography surfaced and described to investigators some of the disturbing images and a URL to a Russian sex-trafficking site.
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Federal investigators were brought on board. An agent viewed a video of how the neighbor saw the images over the Wi-Fi. With the information in hand, both local and federal law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Mckie’s house.
Mckie told investigators his problems with child pornography spanned over several years, according to the probable cause affidavit. Mckie said he would collect pornographic images and get rid of them. He said his latest stint of addiction occurred over the last two years.
During the interview, Mckie told police what they would find. As this happened, other investigators uncovered several images of child pornography from electronics in the home.
Mckie pleaded not guilty to the federal charge. Although he is charged with a crime, it does not nearly mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Due to the allegations’ seriousness, a judge ordered that Mckie remain held in custody while he awaits trial. Mckie is scheduled to start a multi-day trial on Jan. 19 at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.