Boise Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Child

 BOISE – Aaron John Lane, 57, of Boise, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 300 months in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Lane to pay a $3,000 fine and to serve 20 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Lane pleaded guilty to the charge on December 7, 2020.

According to court records, in July 2019, the mother of the thirteen-year-old victim contacted law enforcement to report that Lane had been communicating with her daughter through Facebook. Law enforcement learned that Lane was a registered sex offender and had posed as a teenaged male during his communications with the victim. During the communications, Lane asked the victim take explicit images of herself and send them to him. Lane was arrested after arranging to meet the victim. During an interview, Lane admitted to communicating with the victim and to receiving explicit images of her.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized two cellphones belonging to Lane. A federal magistrate judge issued a search warrant for the cellphones. An agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) examined the cellphones and located Facebook and Instagram communications between Lane and other underage females. A federal magistrate judge also issued search warrants for Lane’s social media accounts. In reviewing the accounts, the FBI agent determined that Lane had requested, and received, sexually explicit images from several minors.

At sentencing, Judge Winmill also ordered Lane to forfeit the electronic devices used in the commission of the offense. As a result of conviction, Lane will be required to register as a sex offender.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Boise 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.