West Branch Man Sentenced on Child Pornography Charge

A man who possessed child pornography was sentenced April 26, 2012 to 97 months in federal prison.

Timothy Wilker, age 43, of West Branch, Iowa, received the sentence after a January 17, 2012 guilty plea to one count of possessing child pornography. At the guilty plea, Wilker admitted that, in May 2009, he knowingly possessed over 8,000 images and over 275 videos of child pornography.

Wilker was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade. Wilker was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment and fined $10,000. A special assessment of $100 was imposed, and Wilker must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, the West Branch Police Department, and the Iowa City Police Department.

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 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 Projectsafechildhood.gov.