A man who received child pornography over the Internet pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Charles Andrew Williams, age 41, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography.

According to court records, in the Fall of 2009, Williams knowingly used a computer to receive child pornography via the Internet. The investigation also revealed that, on October 1, 2009, Williams knowingly possessed images of child pornography on his computer at his residence. The images included a video depicting a prepubescent female engaging in sadistic sexual conduct.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Williams remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Williams faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for life following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Deegan and was investigated by the Marion Police Department and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was filed as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09-0085.

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