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

POCATELLO – A Wyoming man pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor child.

According to court records, James Colton Giannell, 23, of Sheridan, Wyoming, admitted that he asked Andrew John Jemmett, over the Internet, to produce child pornography for him in April 2019, while Jemmett was in Idaho. Jemmett used an eight-year-old child to create pornographic videos that he sold online to Giannell for $150. The videos were produced in a public restroom in Pocatello. Jemmett later used Snapchat to share the videos with Giannell. Law enforcement interviewed Giannell following his arrest and after waiving his Miranda rights, Giannell admitted to requesting and paying for the videos to be produced.

Giannell was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pocatello on August 25, 2020. He is scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2022 and faces a minimum of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to a lifetime of supervised release. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr., of the District of Idaho made the announcement and commended the cooperative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations in Idaho Falls, the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Pocatello Police Department, and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, 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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