Eagle Grove Man Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation Offenses

Jason Marvets, age 30, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child, enticement of a minor, extortion, destruction of evidence, and distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography. The charges are contained in an Indictment filed on August 8, 2017 in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.

The Indictment alleges that, between June 2016 and April 2017, Marvets persuaded, induced, and enticed a minor to produce depictions of sexually explicit conduct, that he threatened to distribute depictions of minors, that he caused another person to destroy evidence, and that he distributed, received, and possessed child pornography.

If convicted, Marvets faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $2,000,000 fine, $30,800 in special assessments, and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.

Marvets appeared for a detention hearing today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Marvets’ next appearance for trial is set for September 18, 2017.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and is being investigated by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Michigan State Police.

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 17-3034.

Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.