BOISE – Calvin Richard Chase, 29, currently of Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania, and formerly of Mountain Home, was sentenced to six years in federal prison for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today.
According to court records, Chase admitted that he engaged in sexually explicit online communications with someone he knew to be a minor. Subsequently, he twice traveled from Idaho to Texas to engage in illicit sexual contact with the victim. At the time, the victim was 13 and 14 years old, and Chase was 13 years older than the victim. When Chase was arrested and agents searched his computer, Chase possessed Child Sexual Abuse Material, including videos of minors engaged in sexual acts, and anime images depicting nude children.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also sentenced Chase to serve 15 years of supervised release following his prison term. Chase shall be required to comply with sex offender registration and notification laws in any state in which he resides or works. Chase pleaded guilty to the offense on April 3, 2024.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the work of the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 221 at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho and the FBI Houston Field Office, which led to the charges. Deputy Criminal Chief Kevin Maloney prosecuted the 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.