GENESEE — A Genesee man has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
Bradley Loewen, 51, will also serve 15 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. In addition, he was ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to the victims, and will be required to register as a sex offender.
A news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Idaho indicated that the investigation began after the FBI learned that a Kik Messenger account, later identified as belonging to Loewen, had been used to distribute child pornography.
After serving a search warrant on his Genesee home, the agency seized his cellphone and determined that the Kik Messenger app had been installed on the device, but was deleted shortly before the phone was seized.
During an interview with law enforcement officials, Loewen allegedly admitted using the app to trade files of child pornography and to engage in sexual conversations about children.
Senior 9th Circuit Judge Richard Tallman, acting as a U.S. District Court judge, sentenced Loewen to 97 months in federal prison.
U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit commended the FBI as well as the Idaho State Police, Latah County Sheriff’s Office and Moscow Police Department for the cooperative efforts that led to the charges.
