POCATELLO — A Blackfoot man who was already a registered sex offender was recently sentenced to serve 24 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography online.
Joseph Hornof, 41, received the federal prison sentence after having been convicted of two counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, federal court records show.
Hornof was convicted of all three charges by a federal jury sitting in Pocatello after a three-day trial in January 2023. He faced a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence due to a prior sex offense against a child from 2009 in Bannock County.
Hornof was arrested in May 2021 and originally was charged with eight counts of publishing child pornography. The case was later moved to federal court.
Hornof came under investigation after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children tied several videos of child sexual abuse to Hornof’s social media accounts. He also reportedly admitted to sexually abusing a child in 2012, after his registered sex offender designation.
According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Hornof used the Kik messenger application to communicate with an undercover officer in North Carolina, according to a recent news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
Hornof shared videos and images of child pornography with the officer, the news release said, adding that Hornof then directed the officer to join a social media group called “pedophilia” that Hornof administered.
In that group, Hornof distributed 24 videos of child pornography to other members of the group. Law enforcement later served a search warrant at Hornof’s residence in Blackfoot. After seizing his laptop and cellphone, officers discovered additional images of child pornography on the devices.
U.S. Chief District Judge David C. Nye also sentenced Hornof to 15 years of supervised release, which will commence upon completion of his prison sentence. Hornof was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to the victims in the images that he possessed and distributed.
“While it is comforting to know that this defendant has been removed from our community, our work to protect Idaho’s children continues,” said U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we will spare no effort in tracking down and holding accountable anyone who peddles child pornography in Idaho.”
Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer, who oversees HSI operations in the Pacific Northwest, said “There is constant work involved in keeping children safe from predators whether online or in person, and this 24 year sentence helps to do just that. HSI highly values our partnerships with the ICAC task force as well as the law enforcement agencies involved in making this arrest, as investigations of this type are only successful with our collective expertise.”
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the cooperative efforts of the Idaho Falls Police Department, Idaho ICAC Task Force, Boone North Carolina Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Blackadar and John Shirts prosecuted this case.