California Man Pleads Guilty To Making, Distributing Child Pornography
An imprisoned California man and former Boy Scout leader pleaded guilty to enticing a 14-year-old girl in Wyoming to send him sexually explicit photos during a hearing in federal court in Casper on Friday.
Dennis Francis Boyle, 54, pleaded guilty to two counts of production and distribution of child pornography during a change of plea hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl.
In exchange for the plea, Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Hambrick and Public Defender Traci Hucke agreed that Boyle would serve two concurrent 15-year prison terms and they would be served concurrently with the seven-year term he's serving for a similar crime in California.
In exchange for the plea, the attorneys agreed to dismiss two counts of causing another person to distribute child pornography.
Skavdahl said each count is punishable from 15 to 30 years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and lifetime supervised release.
The judge asked Boyle, who had a stroke last year and has memory problems, if he understood the potential penalties. Boyle responded, "painfully, yes sir."
Skavdah added Boyle will register as a sex offender, and may be required to pay $5,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, and pay possible restitution for care of the victim.
Because of memory loss, Hucke asked Boyle if he understood that he was admitting to engaging in internet trafficking of a 14-year-old girl, enticed her to send him sexually explicit pictures in September 2015, that he used the KIK social media site to communicate with her, and used the nickname "Snuggler8."
However, he said he did not know the girl's location.
Hambrick only identified the girl by her initials, but did not say where in Wyoming she lived.
Skavdahl scheduled his sentencing for June 15.
The grand jury indicted Boyle on Jan. 11, but the indictment did not reveal details about how the case developed in Wyoming.
However, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California announced in September that Boyle was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for distributing child pornography and obstruction of justice.
Between August and October of 2015, Boyle distributed and received depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, California U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a news release.
Boyle was from Davis, Calif., and worked as a financial auditor for the state and was a charter organization representative for the Boy Scouts, Talbert said.