Former Idaho budget director gets 90-day jail sentence, probation for child pornography
Ada County District Judge Lynn Norton sentenced a former Idaho state budget director to 90 days in jail and 10 years of probation last week after he was found in possession of child pornography last year.
Martin “Marty” Peterson, 76, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of sexually exploitative material of children, otherwise called child pornography.
Norton sentenced Peterson to 3 to 10 years in prison, but suspended the prison sentence and instead ordered that he serve 90 days in jail, with 30 days fixed. After his 30 days are served, Peterson may serve work release or interim jail in increments of one to seven days at the community transition center, according to court records. The time must completed by March 30, 2021.
He also faces 90 days of discretionary jail time that could be imposed, should he violate his probation. Peterson will be required to register as a sex offender after his release from jail.
Police arrested Peterson in October and he was ultimately charged with 14 counts of possession of child pornography. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts and the other 12 were dismissed. The two counts he pleaded guilty to involved children as young as 8.
Some of the images Peterson was initially accused of accessing online involved the sexual abuse of children 3 and younger. A copy of the criminal complaint in Peterson’s case said the images he looked at between January 2015 and October 2019 included images of adults sexually abusing children.
His arrest came after the Internet Crimes Against Children unit received a cybertip in January 2019 about potentially illegal material being downloaded to a computer. More than 6,000 files of images or videos that depicted the sexual exploitation of children were located on Mr. Peterson’s devices, according to prosecutors.
Peterson had been a figure in Idaho politics for five decades.
He served on U.S. Sen. Frank Church’s staff, on former Gov. Butch Otter’s transition team, as the executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities and on the Idaho Humanities Council. He was also the budget director for former Govs. John Evans and Cecil Andrus, and has served as an assistant to several University of Idaho presidents.
Peterson was a longtime community member of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board and contributed many columns. He was removed from the board when first arrested and subsequently resigned.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 5:05 PM.
