BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho man who worked for decades in state government and higher education has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in Ada County.
Martin "Marty" L. Peterson, 76, entered guilty pleas on Thursday to two counts of willfully possessing or accessing child sexually exploitative material. Entries in Idaho's online court repository indicate that prosecutors asked Judge Lynn Norton to dismiss 12 other counts, also related to child porn possession.
Sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. April 16, 2020, at the Ada County Courthouse.
The maximum possible sentence is ten years in prison on each of the two counts for which Peterson pleaded guilty.
Peterson was originally charged with three counts in early October, following an investigation by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Prosecutors added 11 counts in January, after linking him to more graphic images of children uncovered later in the investigation. At the time, prosecutors said nearly half of the children shown in the material were six years of age or younger.
Decades ago, Peterson worked as budget director under Governor John Evans and Governor Cecil Andrus, and served on the staff of Senator Frank Church. He also worked for the University of Idaho as special assistant to the university president and interim director of the James A. McClure Center for Public Policy Research.
