Michael Benjamin Hendren, 35, of Lewiston, Idaho, was sentenced on Mar. 13 to 180 months in federal prison for attempted sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.
The sentencing highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement to address online child exploitation and protect minors from abuse. The case involved multiple undercover operations and cooperation among several agencies.
According to court records, investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado used undercover profiles posing as minors on a social media application in May 2024. Hendren contacted two separate undercover officers during this period, soliciting sexually explicit materials and sending explicit images of himself. That same month, he also communicated with an investigator from the Evesham Township Police Department in New Jersey who maintained another undercover profile targeting online child exploitation. In that conversation, Hendren again tried to persuade the purported minor to produce sexually explicit content.
Hendren also chatted with a fourth user on the same platform who was not law enforcement. He sent explicit images and attempted to persuade this user—later identified as a fifteen-year-old girl—to send him similar material. Further investigation revealed that Hendren had engaged in sexually explicit conversations with several other individuals he believed were children.
Chief United States District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford ordered Hendren to serve ten years of supervised release after his prison term and required him to register as a sex offender due to his conviction. U.S. Attorney Davis said, “I commend the collaboration of the Lewiston Police Department, the Idaho State Police, the Moscow Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Evesham Township Police Department, the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation which led to these charges.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Johnson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney April Smith prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through coordinated federal, state, and local resources.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho has included attorneys who later served in prominent roles such as territorial supreme court justice or state governor according to the official website. The office functions under federal authority handling prosecutions and civil matters across Idaho according to its official website, employing about 60 staff members including assistant attorneys and administrative personnel according to its official website. Its focus is enforcing federal laws through prosecutions and civil litigation within Idaho according to its official website. Joshua D. Hurwit has served as U.S. Attorney for Idaho according to its official website, with jurisdiction extending statewide through main and branch offices according to its official website.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood visit www.justice.gov/psc.
