Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

Priest Morris, 21, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty May 1, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to possession of child pornography.

At the plea hearing, Morris admitted that from January 2024, through August 2024, he used the Discord, Twitter, Telegram, and Snapchat applications to receive, distribute, and possess visual depictions of child pornography including materials involving a prepubescent minor or minor under the age of 12.  The Sioux City Police Department received two CyberTips from the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Snapchat account uploading child pornography.  Law enforcement connected the account back to Morris and obtained a search warrant for his electronics.  During the execution of the search warrant, Morris admitted he had received and possessed child pornography, and it would be located on his phone and iPad.  Forensic analysis of his electronics showed that Morris possessed over 1,500 images and 6 videos of child pornography including materials that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as infants and toddlers.    

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.”

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Morris remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Morris faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

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

The case file number is 24-4086.  

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