Minnesota Resident Sentenced to 170 Months in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

DAVENPORT, Iowa – On November 7, 2017, United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger sentenced Michael W. Kennedy, a.k.a. Ian Curtis, 49, of Monticello, Minnesota, to 170 months in prison for distribution of visual depiction of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, announced United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Kennedy was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release following his imprisonment, pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund, and comply with the Sex Offender Registry Requirements upon release.

On May 18, 2017, Kennedy pled guilty to the charges, which arose from an investigation initiated by the University of Iowa Police Department. As stated in the plea agreement, Kennedy was a patient at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinic in Iowa City. While there, hospital staff thought Kennedy was taking photographs of female staff with his tablet, which is against written hospital policy. The staff confiscated his electronic devices and saw what appeared to be multiple images of child pornography. A forensic examination was conducted which showed that Kennedy was posing as a young male and trading child pornography videos with others through multiple social media applications on his tablet while he was a hospital patient.

This matter was investigated by University of Iowa Police Department, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Learn more about this release by calling Kevin E. VanderSchel at 515-473-9300, or by emailing him at Kevin.VanderSchel@usdoj.gov (link sends e-mail).