Former Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography

A man who distributed child pornography pled guilty on July 17, 2013, in federal court in Sioux City.

Patrick Persinger, age 38, formerly of Sioux City, was convicted of one count of distribution of child pornography.

At the plea hearing, Persinger admitted that, between February 2011 and October 2011, he used the Internet to distribute child pornography.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Donald E. O’Brien will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Persinger remains in custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. Persinger faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for five years to life following his imprisonment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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.”