Nampa man gets 25 years for child sexual exploitation

Fernando Morales, 50, of Nampa, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison after a 16-year-old at his home reported him to police.

Morales will have a lifetime of supervised release, according to Idaho’s Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael Gonzalez.

According to the plea agreement, officers with the Nampa Police Department contacted Morales at his residence in Nampa on Aug. 23, after the teen called 911.

The minor victim informed officers that Morales had sexual contact with the minor victim for several years and had nude images of the victim on his cell phone.

During an interview with Nampa Police detectives, Morales reportedly admitted that he had sexual contact with the minor victim on numerous occasions, beginning in approximately June 2015 in El Paso, Texas. Morales, the victim, and two other children moved to Nampa in July.

Morales also admitted that he recorded videos and pictures of himself and the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct and that he saved the videos and pictures on his cell phone.

Nampa Police detectives seized several electronic devices and discovered 23 videos and 21 still images of the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Nineteen of the videos and all of the still images depicted Morales engaged in sexually explicit conduct with the victim. Two of the videos and nine of the still images contained data showing they were produced in Texas and transported to Idaho.

“This prison sentence ensures that Morales will never again be a threat to children,” said Gonzalez. “His conduct caused unimaginable harm to this child victim. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our local, state and federal partners, will vigorously prosecute those who harm the children of this community.”

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Nampa man gets 25 years for child sexual exploitation."