Ex-Kuna day-care business owner pleads guilty to charges related to child porn, sex abuse
A former Kuna day care center owner has pleaded guilty to seven felonies related to child pornography and sexually abusing a child.
Garrett Charles Mallery, 48, entered into a plea agreement with the state that will likely drop seven of the 14 felony counts originally charged against him, according to online court records. Mallery pleaded guilty to six counts of possessing sexually exploitative material and one count of sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age.
Kuna police began investigating Mallery in December 2020. His home, near the intersection of Linder and Deer Flat roads in Kuna, housed a day-care center. Investigators were told that he sexually abused a girl in his home on several occasions starting in April 2020, according to a news release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
During their investigation, detectives searched for additional victims. That is when they found “multiple illegal images on Mallery’s cell phone,” according to an additional news release from the sheriff’s office.
As of Wednesday, Mallery was still in custody at the Ada County Jail, according to online records. He was being held on an $800,000 bond.
He is expected to be sentenced on May 12 in Ada County District Court.
Under Idaho law, sexual abuse of a child under 16 years old is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $50,000 fine on each count.
A criminal complaint filed by the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office detailed the child pornography Mallery possessed.
Of the 12 counts against him, Mallery admitted guilt to six which all involved female children being sexually exploited, according to records. The children in the images and videos ages ranged from 2 to 10 years old.
The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Boise-area attorney Charles Crawford Crafts, who is representing Mallery, denied to comment.
