Aplington Man Sentenced To Over 16 Years For Possessing Child Pornography

A man who possessed child pornography was sentenced today to over 16 years in federal prison.

Jeremiah Romo, age 21, of Aplington, Iowa, received the sentence after a May 27, 2014, guilty plea to one count of possession of child pornography.  At the plea hearing, Romo admitted that he possessed child pornography, including one or more depictions of prepubescent children.  He also admitted that, in 2008, he was adjudicated delinquent for sexual abuse in the second degree.

Romo was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.  Romo was sentenced to 200 months’ imprisonment.  A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Romo must also serve a 20-year term of supervised release.  He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and the Champaign County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Office.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is CR 14-3011.