BOISE — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. Attorneys (USAO)), published as received.

BOISE – Conrad Hull, 30, of Caldwell, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. announced today. Hull was indicted by a Boise federal grand jury on November 10, 2020.

According to court records, in October 2020, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a Cybertip from Kik Messenger. According to the Cybertip, child pornography had been uploaded to a Kik account that was later identified as belonging to Hull.

A state magistrate judge issued a search warrant for Hull’s residence in Caldwell. Law enforcement executed the search warrant and seized a cellphone belonging to Hull. A forensic examination of the cellphone revealed several files of child pornography, including files depicting a 5-year-old child and a 7-year-old child that Hull admitted producing. Hull told law enforcement that he used his cellphone to take explicit images of the two children so that he would have more files to trade on Kik. Hull admitted to distributing the images of the two children to obtain additional files of child pornography.

Hull is scheduled to be sentenced on September 16 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. As part of his plea agreement, Hull agreed to forfeit the cellphone he used in the commission of the offense.

Acting U.S. Attorney Gonzalez credited the cooperative efforts of the Idaho ICAC Task Force, Caldwell Police Department, and the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office, which led to charges.

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. As part of Project Safe Childhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office partner to marshal 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.

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