Man sentenced to 24 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of children
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The following is a news release from the United States Attorney for the District of Idaho.
BOISE — Michael Robert Gorley, 29, of Filer, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 292 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of children, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye also ordered Gorley to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Gorley pleaded guilty to the charge on May 12, 2020.
According to court records, Gorley admitted to communicating with an individual on Kik Messenger on June 3 and 4, 2019 regarding the exchange of sexually explicit images of children. Unbeknownst to Gorley, the person he was communicating with was an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) task force officer from Washington D.C. During those communications, Gorley sent the undercover agent several photographs depicting Gorley and a 4-year-old child engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court records, FBI in Washington D.C. identified an IP address used by Gorley as located in Gooding, Idaho, and forwarded the information to FBI in Boise. FBI in Boise began investigating on June 5, 2019 and identified Gorley as the individual who sent the images. On June 6, 2019, FBI contacted Gorley at his residence in Filer, and Gorley admitted that he had produced the sexually explicit images with the 4-year-old child using his cell phone, and then sent the images to another individual over the internet.
As a result of his conviction, Gorley will be required to register as a sex offender. Judge Nye also ordered the forfeiture of the cell phone used in the commission of the offense.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from Gooding County Sheriff’s Office, Twin Falls County Sheriff’s Office, and the Filer Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.