A Boise man is in custody after police say a phone traced back to him allegedly contained images and video of child sexual abuse material. Gary Olha was arrested without incident and booked into Ada County Jail on Wednesday, according to investigators.
The case began on October 28, when Boise police started investigating a report of child sexual abuse material found on a phone, according to KBOI. Investigators obtained a search warrant for the device, and evidence indicated it belonged to Olha, the station reports.
Police said investigators then found images and video of child sexual abuse material on the phone linked to Olha. A week later, on Wednesday, officers arrested him in Boise and transported him to Ada County Jail on the listed charges, per the same report.
How the Investigation Unfolded
The roughly one-week span between the initial report and Olha's arrest reflects a process that typically involves securing a warrant, examining digital evidence, and confirming ownership before police move to take someone into custody. In this case, the station's report indicates that sequence played out with the phone evidence pointing back to Olha before he was taken into custody.
Anyone following the case can track its progress through the Idaho Courts Odyssey portal, which the Ada County Sheriff's Office directs the public to for checking the status of criminal cases.
Idaho Law and the Broader Caseload
Idaho Code section 18-1507C addresses visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, and knowingly producing, distributing, receiving, possessing, or accessing such material can constitute a felony under the statute, according to the Idaho Legislature.
Cases like this one are not isolated in the Boise area. Earlier this year, Boise Police reported arresting Nathaniel Hearon on a warrant tied to child sexual abuse material charges, with local law enforcement in Iowa taking him into custody on September 18. The department said evidence showed Hearon possessed child sexual abuse material along with voyeuristic recordings of adult and juvenile females, and that the Boise Police Department listed 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child against him, with the investigation still ongoing and additional charges pending.
In another separate case, Boise police arrested 48-year-old Gary Williams on a federal warrant following an internet child enticement investigation, saying at the time that they were concerned there could be local juvenile victims. A different Boise investigation led to the arrest of two suspects, identified as 20-year-old Tanner Martin and 19-year-old Saysha Dunn, after police said sexually explicit material tied to a 15-year-old victim was found on Snapchat on the victim's phone; both suspects were known to the victim, according to idahonews.com. None of these cases are connected to Olha's arrest.
Statewide Numbers Show a Growing Workload
Idaho's Internet Crimes Against Children Unit investigated more than 400 cases in 2021 alone, which led to 15 arrests, according to ktvb.com. The unit also reported that case numbers in Idaho jumped nearly 93% between 2019 and 2020. At the time of that report, the station said the unit had conducted close to 800 investigations over the preceding year, resulting in 51 arrests, with more than 1,145 cyber-tips sitting in its queue.
Separately, the Idaho Attorney General's office publishes annual reports covering child sexual abuse cases in which criminal charges were filed in Idaho courts, including data on victims, offenders, case outcomes, and sentencing, according to a description posted by ag.idaho.gov. No details from Olha's case have been included in any such report to date.
