April 15, 2009

Iowa man sentenced to 12 years for child pornography crimes

DES MOINES, Iowa - An Iowa man was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison Wednesday for child pornography crimes. U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker, Southern District of Iowa, announced the sentencing; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the investigation.

William Ralph Dodd, 57, of Madrid, Iowa, was sentenced to 151 months in prison for receiving and possessing child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge James E. Gritzner also ordered Dodd to serve a ten year term of supervised release upon his release from prison.

Dodd pleaded guilty to receiving and possessing child pornography Dec. 17, 2008. This case was the result of a search warrant executed on Dodd's residence in July 2007, when ICE agents found images of child pornography stored on his computer.

ICE investigated this case as part of Operation Predator, a national initiative that protects children by investigating and presenting for prosecution pedophiles, Internet predators, human traffickers, international sex tourists, and other predatory criminals. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 11,500 child predators and sex offenders nationwide.

This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office 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.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.

  Last Modified: