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POCATELLO, Idaho — A man found guilty in federal court of 11 sex crime charges has been sentenced to prison.
Trenton Jared Powell, 45, was found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and three counts of receipt of child pornography following a May trial.
During a hearing Wednesday, he was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, according to documents obtained by EastIdahoNews.com.
Powell has been ordered to serve 360 months — or 30 years — apiece for the eight charges of sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation, to be served concurrently. That sentence will run consecutive to the 120 months — or 10 years — apiece Powell received for the child porn charges, which will run concurrently with each other. This means he will be in prison for 40 years.
Because he has been sentenced in federal court, rather than state court, Powell will not be eligible for parole, according to assistant United States Attorney Justin Paskett. However, there is an opportunity for Powell to earn a "small reduction" in his sentence, with good behavior and engagement in treatment programs, Paskett added.
Paskett, who was one of the two prosecuting attorneys handling the case, would not say directly whether he believed the sentence to be just, though he did note that the 40-year sentence was a large deviation from the 300-year sentencing guideline recommendation.
"He should have been given a sentence that would effectively protect society from him for the remainder of his life. We argued for that sentence," Paskett told EastIdahoNews.com. "That being said, 40 years still may accomplish that."
Powell will be around 80 when he is released from prison if he earns the "good-time reduction." When his prison sentence is complete, he will be on supervised release for 15 years.
"One of our biggest concerns at the U.S. Attorney's Office is protecting children and protecting innocents," Paskett said. "When people sexually exploit and abuse children, it is a top priority to both protect society from them and send an effective message of deterrence to anyone else who would have a similar inclination."
Powell was arrested by Pocatello police in December 2020 after a woman told officers that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with Powell that began when she was 13. Following his arrest, Powell was charged with multiple felonies, including rape and lewd conduct with a minor, by the Bannock County Prosecutor's Office.
In October 2021, Powell was indicted on federal charges related to the same allegations.
Between October 2010 and June 2012, Powell persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a girl he knew to be underage into sex acts, the indictment shows.
Powell also attempted to coerce an underage victim — documents do not indicate if the victims of the two crimes were the same person or not — into sex acts with the intention of producing child pornography. He intended to use materials shipped to him in the production of the pornography.
Bannock County senior deputy prosecutor Erin Tognetti told EastIdahoNews.com that, after consulting the victims, it was decided that her office would dismiss state charges.
"While we feel the state's case is very strong and both victims are entirely credible, they both were required to testify during the federal jury trial," Tognetti said in the email. "Because Powell will be serving 40 years in federal prison, we feel it is now unnecessary to put the victims through a second jury trial."
To me, he showed no emotion. Like falling in love with a (child) then falling in love with the (child's) friend, like there's nothing wrong with that, like he perceived he was doing nothing wrong.
–Josh Graves, juror
One of the jurors, Josh Graves, told EastIdahoNews.com after the trial that he was taken aback by the "arrogance" of Powell during the proceedings — particularly while the victims offered their testimonies.
"As we're sitting there … I could see straight across to the defense. To me, he showed no emotion," Graves said in a previous story. "Like falling in love with a (child) then falling in love with the (child's) friend, like there's nothing wrong with that, like he perceived he was doing nothing wrong."
Paskett agreed with Graves, suggesting that, aside from occasional vulgarity, Powell seemed almost dismissive of the alleged crimes.
"Up and through sentencing, he showed no remorse for anything — none," Paskett said.
Powell's defense attorney requested during the sentencing hearing that Powell be ordered to serve his sentence in federal custody either in Petersburg, Virginia, or Englewood, Colorado.
In addition to the prison sentence, Winmill ordered Powell to pay $51,100 in fees and fines. The judge also ordered additional hearings in order to determine restitution and property forfeiture amounts.
Powell was remanded into the custody of U.S. Federal Marshals.
