COEUR d’ALENE — A Hayden man will spend up to 15 years in prison for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.

Brandon T. Ove, 27, pleaded guilty in September to two counts of sexual exploitation of children by possession and distribution of sexually exploitative material, both felonies. 

First District Judge Ross Pittman sentenced Ove to 15 years in prison for distribution of sexually exploitative materials and 10 years in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material. The sentences will run concurrently, with parole eligibility after seven years. 

The Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began investigating Ove last May after the file hosting service Dropbox reported that a user, later identified as Ove, had uploaded child sexual abuse material to his account, according to court records.  

Police reviewed the contents of Ove’s Dropbox account and identified 62 files of “suspected child sexual abuse material,” according to court records. These files depicted children who appeared to be between the ages of 2 and 14.  

Ove also allegedly distributed child sexual abuse material to others via private messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, according to court records. 

In 2019, Ove was charged with rape after law enforcement discovered his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl. In Idaho, a person aged 16 or 17 cannot consent to sex with a person who is more than three years older.  

Ove pleaded guilty to the amended charge of injury to a child, a misdemeanor. In exchange for Ove’s guilty plea, he received a suspended sentence of one year in jail and was placed on supervised probation for two years.