Editor’s note: This story includes disturbing details about a case of alleged child sexual exploitation.
LEWISTON, Idaho. — A Lewiston man who lives just 400 yards from a daycare center was arrested for 19 counts related to child sex abuse on Thursday.
According to court documents, 42-year-old Erica Villa faces 16 charges of sexual exploitation and three for distributing sexually exploitative materials.
Authorities in Lewiston first learned about Villa when agents in Tennesse told them a suspect in their investigation had an address in Idaho.
Investigators in Tennessee had been tracking Villa’s internet and social media use which had been linked to distributing the child sexually exploitive material. In one instance, Tennessee agents found private chats between Villa and another user that contained 47 videos of child sex abusive material.
The videos contained explicit sexual material of children ranging from infants to teenagers.
In October of 2023, FBI agent Rob Hille received a copy of the material that was being distributed and was granted a search warrant for Villa, his vehicle his home and his electronic devices.
On Jan. 4, a Lewiston Police Department detective conducted a traffic stop of Villa, seized his cellphone from his vehicle and sent it to be searched.
Court documents say Villa was taken to the Lewiston FBI office for questioning. During an interview, Villa admitted to having access to the social media accounts and said he did not think that possessing and distributing the material was illegal.
Villa also told FBI agents that he didn’t feel like he was hurting anyone by sharing or viewing it and felt no remorse. He admitted that he had been viewing and sending child pornography for over a decade and that it started when he was in high school.
When he was asked if he would ever stop being sexually attracted to 14 to 15-year-old boys, he said he thought he might once he was married.
After being asked if he thought it was ok for a father to have sex with his infant, he replied with that it was probably a little young, but a 10-year-old would be old enough to give consent and enjoy it.
Police determined that, given Villa’s history with child pornography and because he lived within 500 feet of a children’s home and a daycare, he was a threat to the community and was taken into custody.
He was arraigned at the Nez Perce County Magistrate Court Friday afternoon and his bond was set at $1 million.
