BOISE, Idaho — A former Boise youth ice-skating coach faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a child pornography charge.
Jonathan Schmidt, 40, admitted to one count of possession of child pornography in February as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. A separate felony charge of distribution of obscene depictions was dropped.
Schmidt was working as a figure-skating coach at Idaho IceWorld when he was arrested on the charges in August 2019, following an investigation by the Idaho Crimes Against Children Task Force. According to court documents, the investigation started after illegal content was downloaded on an IP address associated with Schmidt.
During an interview with detectives, Schmidt admitted to that he had been viewing child pornography from his Boise home "off and on for a couple of years," according to the plea agreement. A search of his electronic devices turned up about 120 videos and 11 photos showing children being sexually abused, as well as more than 500 images of computer-generated child pornography.
Schmidt, who had been an instructor at Idaho IceWorld since 2009, was immediately banned from the facility after his arrest. Officials there said there was no evidence that the Boise ice skating center or its users were involved in the charges against Schmidt.
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Schmidt will be required to register as a sex offender, and agreed as part of the plea deal to undergo a psychosexual evaluation, have no contact with minors, have restrictions placed on his computer and Internet use, and not take any job or volunteer position "that exposes him either directly or indirectly to minors" unless approved in advance by his probation officer.
Sentencing in the case is set for May 14.
