Dubuque Man Sentenced to 45 Years for Sexual Exploitation of Children

A man who sexually exploited two children was sentenced today to 45 years in federal prison.

Justin James Paisley, age 35, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 18, 2024 guilty plea to sexual exploitation of children and distribution of child pornography.

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that between the spring of 2022 and May 2024, on multiple occasions, Paisley and his co-conspirator, John Dixon, committed sexual acts with a prepubescent child.  They photographed and videotaped the child engaging in sexual conduct and sent those images to each other via text message.  Paisley also photographed a second prepubescent child engaged in sexually explicit conduct and sent the photograph to Dixon.    

Paisley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Paisley was sentenced to 540 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

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.”

Paisley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

John Dixon’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 23, 2025.  Dixon remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Dixon faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 50 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, $95,200 in special assessments, and life term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-CR-1032.

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