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May 11, 2007
Iowa man gets 30 years in prison for producing child pornography
At least 23 children were victimized
DES MOINES, Iowa - An Iowa man was sentenced to 30 years in prison today, the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Terance Scott Edgington, 38, formerly of Osceola, Iowa, was sentenced to the maximum statutory term of 360 months in prison for producing child pornography. There is no parole in the federal prison system. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt also ordered lifetime supervision upon Edgington's release from prison, and required that he register as a sex offender.
Edgington pleaded guilty to producing child pornography in September 2006, admitting that between August and November 2004 he produced images of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that he distributed some of the images via the Internet. Edgington admitted that there were at least 23 victims, most of them under the age of 12.
ICE special agents executed a search warrant May 3, 2006, at Edgington's residence in Osceola. Agents seized a camera, computer, and related peripherals during the search. At the time of the search, Edgington admitted taking photos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct and storing them on his computer.
"This sentence is a fitting end to horrendous string of crimes," said Estela Biesemeyer, resident agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Des Moines. "The law enforcement community had been investigating these child porn images for some time, and our agents were ultimately able to trace them to Edgington and identify his victims."
This prosecution is part of Operation Predator, ICE's comprehensive initiative to safeguard children from foreign national pedophiles, international sex tourists, Internet child pornographers, and human traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 9,800 individuals nationwide, including 134 in Iowa.
To enhance efforts to protect children, ICE has formed partnerships with several non-governmental organizations, including the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and World Vision's child sex tourism prevention project, to provide prevention and deterrence information to the public.
Members of the public wishing to report suspicious activity may contact ICE at 1-866-DHS-2ICE or Operation.Predator@dhs.gov. Additionally, NCMEC can be contacted at 1-800-843-5678 or at www.cybertipline.com. Additional information about the operation is posted at www.ice.gov.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted this investigation with assistance from the Osceola Police Department, the Clarke County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Department of Human Services.
-- ICE --
