Iowa Sex Offender Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Child Enticement Crimes

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A West Liberty, Iowa, man, Charles Walter Christopher, 43, was sentenced on December 15, 2021, to a total of 264 months in prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for attempted enticement of a minor and committing a sex offense while a registered sex offender.

Christopher had pleaded guilty in August of 2021. According to court documents, Christopher began communicating online with an individual he believed to be a 15-year-old child. After arranging to meet with the intended victim, Christopher traveled from West Liberty, Iowa, to Rock Island, Illinois. Upon his arrival, Christopher was arrested by federal agents and local law enforcement. At the time of his arrest, Christopher was on federal supervised release out of the Southern District of Iowa for attempted enticement of a minor.

Christopher has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest in November 2020.

“We will continue to prosecute those who intend to sexually harm children by working with the FBI and our other law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Harris. “Hopefully, this case and others like it will serve to remind anyone with the inclination to prey upon children to think twice and to stop. Children and parents need to remain constantly vigilant and exercise caution when accessing the internet, communication apps, and similar platforms.”

"The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to use every available resource to track, locate, and arrest those who seek to victimize our children," said David Nanz, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Springfield Office.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sara Darrow’s 264-month sentence was comprised of 144 months’ imprisonment for attempted enticement of a minor and 120 months’ imprisonment for committing a sex offense while a registered sex offender, to run consecutively.  

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Division, with assistance from Rock Island Police and Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer L. Mathew represented the federal government in the prosecution.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. 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.