BOISE – Japheth Shipp, 35, of Boise, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for attempted use of interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, the investigation began in April 2023 when the Boise Police Department (BPD) received a report that Shipp had engaged in inappropriate communications with a 13-year-old. A BPD detective began communicating with Shipp posing as the child. During the electronic communications, Shipp sent explicit images and discussed engaging the child in sexual acts. Shipp was arrested when he traveled to meet the child.
U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford also sentenced Shipp to ten years of supervised release. Shipp will be required to register as a sex offender as a result of the conviction.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the investigation by the Boise Police Department, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kassandra McGrady prosecuted this case.
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 the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of the Department of Justice, 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.
