Pella Man Sentenced on Child Pornography Charge

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA—On July 23, 2010, James Allen Russell, age 44, of Pella, Iowa was sentenced to a term of 180 months’ imprisonment upon his conviction for receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt ordered Russell to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and be placed on the Sex Offender Registry upon his release from prison. Russell was also ordered to pay a Crime Victims Fund assessment of $100.

United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said that federal laws dealing with the sexual exploitation of minors were designed for Internet sexual predators. Klinefeldt further added that while the Internet has many practical uses, it is also a place where sexual predators lurk and attempt to sexually exploit children. He encouraged concerned citizens to visit the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children website at www.iaicac.net for more information on internet safety.

Russell pleaded guilty to the receipt of child pornography charge on April 21, 2010. This case arose out of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that led to the seizure of Russell’s computer. A forensic exam of Russell’s computer revealed that he had downloaded and saved approximately 150 images of child pornography from the Internet.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

This enforcement action was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: www.projectsafechildhood.gov.