Home Omaha Press Releases 2009 Former Iowa City Psychologist Sentenced to Ten Years Prison on Federal Child Pornography Charges
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Former Iowa City Psychologist Sentenced to Ten Years Prison on Federal Child Pornography Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office September 18, 2009
  • Southern District of Iowa (515) 473-9300

DAVENPORT, IA—On September 18, 2009, Howard Isaac Weinberg, age 61, a former psychologist from Iowa City was sentenced to the statutory maximum ten years in prison by United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker. Weinberg will also be required to spend ten years on supervised release following any period of incarceration.

On April 15, 2008, Iowa City Police responded to Neo Computers in Iowa City, Iowa (Southern District of Iowa) to investigate a report of child pornography found on a customer’s computer. Iowa City Detective Smithey was shown a sales order that showed the owner of the involved computer as Howard Weinberg. Employees of Neo Computers related that a computer was brought in for repair with a possible damaged hard drive. The normal practice and procedure at Neo Computers was for the information to be extracted from the damaged hard drive onto a computer owned by Neo Computers. This information would then be transferred to a new hard drive and replaced back into the customer’s computer.

Employees informed Detective Smithey that in transferring the hard drive, employees observed numerous images they believed were child pornography. Detective Smithey was allowed to view a sample of these images on the Neo Computer and observed several photographs of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Detective Smithey obtained a state search warrant for the hard drive at Neo Computers. Pursuant to this search warrant, on April 15, 2008, Detective Smithey returned to Neo Computers and seized items, including a Western Digital Hard Drive (hereinafter “Western Digital”), disks created by Neo Computers while attempting the transfer, and the Dell Computer tower from which the Western Digital hard drive was removed.

Based on this investigation, the Iowa City Police Department obtained a second state search warrant for Howard Weinberg’s residence in Iowa City, Iowa. On April 16, 2008, this search warrant was executed by members of the Iowa City Police Department and the FBI. After Weinberg reviewed the search warrant, he directed officers to a back room in the house and said most of what they were looking for was in there. He also pointed out a suitcase that contained a lap top computer.

Officers seized numerous computers, hard drives, peripheral equipment, flash drives, cameras, Ipods, CDs and DVDs, computer equipment, documents and indicia. At sentencing, the government entered into evidence numerous images and a series of Internet chats involving Weinberg and possible minors wherein child pornography images were exchanged. The defense offered in evidence of progress Weinberg has made in therapy since the date of his arrest.

At sentencing Judge Jarvey, denied a request to vary downward in sentence. Judge Jarvey noted the young age of the victims in the images, the number of images, the substantial period of time the conduct occurred, the possession of images of bondage and torture, and the need to protect the public. Judge Jarvey expressed that this conduct went beyond the offense in its most basic form. Judge Jarvey ordered Weinberg immediately into custody to begin serving his sentence.

This case was prosecuted in the United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Iowa. This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Iowa City Police Department.

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