CLEMONS MAN SENTENCED ON CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND WEAPONS CHARGES
DES MOINES - On July 17, 2009, Ralph Edwin Johnson, age 52, of Clemons, Iowa, was sentenced to a term of 180 months imprisonment for distribution of child pornography and 120 months for being a felon in possession of firearms, with the sentences to run concurrently, announced United States Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt also ordered Johnson to serve a ten year term of supervised release upon his release from prison and pay a Crime Victim Fund assessment of $200.00.
On April 3, 2009, Johnson pleaded guilty to the distribution of child pornography and felon in possession of firearms charges. On October 23, 2008, Johnson distributed child pornography, via the internet, to an undercover law enforcement officer. A search warrant was executed at Johnson’s residence on November 14, 2008. During the course of this search warrant, law enforcement officers found numerous images and videos of child pornography stored on Johnson’s computer and several firearms.
Johnson was convicted a sexual exploitation of a minor in Marshall County, Iowa in 2005. He was listed on the Sex offender Registry at the time of this offense. Johnson was also previously convicted of a felony drug offense in Polk County, Iowa in 1977.
This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. This case was investigated by the Marshalltown, Iowa Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.