Ada County Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Possessing and Producing Child Pornography

Attorney General Raúl Labrador has announced that Manuel Paul Apalatequi, 33, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by Production of Sexually Exploitative Material, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by Possession of Sexually Exploitative Material, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Apalatequi was sentenced on June 28, 2024, by Ada County District Judge Derrick O'Neill.

In August 2022 through October of 2023, the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit received numerous CyberTips from Synchronoss Technologies indicating that several files containing child sexual abuse material were being uploaded to their network from a phone number associated with Apalatequi. After obtaining search warrants, officers searched Apalatequi's home and phone, locating approximately 1000 files of child sexual abuse material. Additionally, Apalatequi was having conversations with underage females that included the exchanging of sexually explicit photos and videos. Apalatequi threatened to release the sexually explicit photos of one victim unless she complied with his requests for additional explicit content.

"I'm grateful for the hard work done by ICAC investigators and the prosecutor in this case," said Attorney General Labrador. "A sentence of this magnitude speaks to the seriousness of the crimes committed and it's one more predator off the streets instead of targeting our children for sexual abuse and extortion."

Judge O'Neill sentenced Apalatequi to 25 years in prison with 5 years fixed and 20 years indeterminate and ordered that Apalatequi have no contact with the victims for 30 years. Apalatequi was also ordered to pay court fees and costs. Upon release, Apalatequi will have to register as a sex offender pursuant to Idaho law.

The case was investigated by the Attorney General's ICAC Unit, in cooperation with the Boise Police Department, and prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Madison Allen.