Lewiston Man Gets 15 Years for Child Exploitation in Coeur d'Alene Case

Michael Benjamin Hendren, 35, of Lewiston was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced Friday. Chief U.S. District Judge Amanda K. Brailsford handed down the sentence in Coeur d'Alene. Hendren will also serve 10 years of supervised release upon his release and must register as a sex offender.

Court documents show Hendren initiated contact in May 2024 with two undercover investigators from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office who had created social media profiles posing as minors. According to those records, Hendren "repeatedly requested 'sexually explicit materials' from the individuals he believed to be minors" while sending explicit images of himself. He extended the same conduct to a third undercover profile, this one operated by an investigator from the Evesham Township Police Department in New Jersey.

Beyond the undercover contacts, court records indicate Hendren also communicated on the same platform with a fourth user who investigators later identified as a 15-year-old girl. He sent her sexually explicit images of himself and attempted to persuade her to send explicit images in return.

The investigation drew law enforcement from across multiple jurisdictions. U.S. Attorney Davis commended the collaboration of the Lewiston Police Department, Idaho State Police, Moscow Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Evesham Township Police Department, Nez Perce County Prosecutor's Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Johnson and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney April Smith prosecuted the case.

The sentence reflects a sustained federal and regional push to investigate and prosecute child exploitation across North Idaho and beyond its borders.