Contributed Article
CATALINA – A Pima County man was sentenced Wednesday to 340 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor under 15 years of age, the result of a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The investigation into Kimball Hoff, 61, began in October 2015, when HSI special agents received information about an IP address downloading and sharing child pornography. On Oct. 27, 2015, HSI special agents executed an Arizona search warrant at Hoff’s residence. Based on the overwhelming evidence identified during the search the defendant was taken into custody and held in lieu of posting bail. According to court documents, HSI special agents discovered over 6,500 images and 800 videos of child pornography ranging from infant and toddler age to early teens.
Hoff was indicted in November 2015 on all 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor under 15 years of age. Two years later, he was convicted by a jury trial.
“This multiple lifetime sentence should serve as a powerful deterrent to child predators who mistakenly believe the internet will enable them to indulge their perverse desires with impunity,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI in Phoenix. “HSI will continue to work closely with our local partners to hold these dangerous sexual predators accountable for their actions.”
This case is the product of HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors and sex trafficking of children. In the fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
Hoff was sentenced by Arizona Superior Court Judge Howard Fell. The case was prosecuted by the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
