Man pleads guilty in child porn case
COEUR d’ALENE — A Bonners Ferry man pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of child pornography, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez.
Thurlo Eugene Clark, 72, faces up to 20 years when he is sentenced in U.S. District Court in Coeur d’Alene on July 26.
Charging information alleges that Clark knowingly possessed in May 2016 a desktop computer with a hard drive that contained sexually explicit images of minors that were obtained and exchanged over the internet.
A plea agreement in the case said law enforcement received information that Clark attempted to send child pornography using the internet. Clark admitted that he knowingly possessed child porn and consented to a search of the computer. The computer held more than a 100 images and 14 videos of sexually explicit images of minors known to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the agreement said.
Agents also recovered removal digital storage devices that uncovered another 1,088 images and 258 videos, federal court records indicate. At least one of the videos depicted a prepubescent girl engaging in bestiality.
The case was investigated by Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The agreement requires Clark to pay $12,000 known sexual abuse victims depicted in some of the imagery. Clark is also required to submit to a psycho-sexual evaluation and polygraph testing to monitor his compliance with the terms of the agreement, which prohibits him from being with 300 yards of schoolyards, arcades and other places frequented primarily by minors. Clark is also required to register as a sex offender, comply with sex offender treatment and isn’t allowed to use or possess an Internet-connected device without express permission from his probation officer.
Clark, who is also known as Thurlow Clark, has no prior criminal record in the state of Idaho, according to the state supreme court database.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.