Martin L. Marty Peterson

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) Martin L. Marty Peterson, 76, of Boise, a figure in Idaho politics for five decades, was arrested Thursday and charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.

A press release from Attorney General Lawrence Wasdens office said that Peterson is alleged to have possessed sexually exploitative material. The investigation was performed by the Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, the Boise Police Department and the Ada County Prosecutors Office.

The Idaho statute under which Peterson is charged is quite broad and includes several specific offenses. The Ada County Prosecutors Office would not say Thursday what Peterson is alleged to have done. It would confirm only that he would be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Among other positions, Peterson served on U.S. Sen. Frank Churchs staff, on former Gov. Butch Otters transition team, as the executive director of the Association of Idaho Cities and on the Idaho Humanities Council, per his page on the Idaho Humanities Council website. He was also the budget director for former Govs. John Evans and Cecil Andrus, and has served as an assistant to several University of Idaho presidents.

Peterson, a Lewiston native and University of Idaho graduate, has served on U of Is School of Journalism and Mass Media advisory board, the Friends of Idaho Public Television board and as the president for the Foundation for Idaho History. He also was the director of U of Is James A. and Louise McClure Center for Public Policy Research.

University of Idaho officials declined to comment about Petersons arrest but said he is currently still on the journalism school board.

Peterson, who has written many guest columns for the Statesman, co-authored Idaho 100: The People Who Most Influenced the Gem State. He has written other books and also graduated from Columbia Basin College and Harvard Universitys Senior Managers in Government Program.

See the article here:

Former Idaho state budget director charged with sexual exploitation of a minor - East Idaho News