Official’s son indicted on child porn charges
BOISE – The son of Canyon County’s prosecuting attorney has been indicted on charges of posession of child pornography and destruction of evidence after a yearlong investigation by the Idaho State Police.
Marcus D. Young, 31, was indicted by a grand jury in Caldwell’s 3rd District Court on five felony counts of possession of sexually exploitive material and four felony counts of destruction of evidence, according to documents made public by the Idaho attorney general’s office.
Young is a Canyon County computer technician who has been on paid leave since August.
He has remained on the payroll, collecting his annual salary of $57,539, plus benefits, said Angie Sillonis, a county spokeswoman.
According to the indictment, Young had five computer images of children “engaged in, participating in, or being used for explicit sexual conduct.”
It goes on to allege that Young, on Aug. 22, attempted to “willfully destroy and/or alter data” knowing that the data and the computer drives “were about to be produced, used or discovered as evidence of a felony crime, and with the intent to prevent it from being produced, used or discovered.”
Canyon County Prosecutor David Young said he believes his son was innocent.
“While the charges are serious, the family is looking forward to seeing the evidence and finding out what is really going on,” David Young said in a statement made on Canyon County letterhead. “I also trust and believe in our system of justice and I look forward to a complete exoneration of my son.”
Marcus Young is due to be arraigned Oct. 5. He posted a $20,000 bond Thursday and has been released from county custody.
Bob Cooper, a spokesman for the Idaho attorney general, declined to say if the computer equipment involved in the case belonged to Canyon County. He said details about the computer gear’s ownership would be made public in court.
Sillonis said she didn’t know if the computer equipment belonged to Canyon County or if it was Marcus Young’s personal property.
State police investigated Marcus Young starting last year, after a request by the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office. The attorney general’s office was appointed as special prosecutor, at the request of Canyon County commissioners.
“The duration of the investigation leading to these charges was prolonged by the condition of the evidence,” according to a press release from the Idaho attorney general.
Possession of sexually exploitative material carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each count.
On the evidence destruction charges, each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.