DeWitt Man Sentenced on Federal Child Pornography Charges

DAVENPORT, IA—On June 29, 2012, Travis John Claude, age 23, of DeWitt, Iowa, was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment for one count of receiving and distributing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States Chief District Judge James E. Gritzner also ordered Claude to serve a term of supervised release of 10 years following his incarceration and pay an assessment of $100 to Crime Victims Fund.

The case began during an online undercover peer-to-peer investigation. Law enforcement identified an Internet protocol (IP) address associated with the file sharing of child pornography. Subsequent investigation showed that this IP address came back to the residence of Claude’s parents, where he also resided. A search warrant located Claude’s computer, which was found to contain child pornography. During an interview, Claude admitted downloading child pornography via the GigaTribe file-sharing network.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation; the DeWitt, Iowa Police Department; and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa.

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.

Spencer Man Admits to Receiving Child Pornography

A man who received child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Sioux City.

Justin Funck, age 27, of Spencer, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receiving child pornography.

At the plea hearing, Funck admitted that, between April 2009 and May 2009, he downloaded child pornography using the Internet.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Funck was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. Funck faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for five years to life following his imprisonment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 10-4102.

Emmetsburg, Iowa Real Estate Broker Convicted of Mail Fraud

A real estate broker who stole mortgage loan proceeds received during real estate closings pled guilty on July 5, 2011, in federal court in Sioux City.

Jean Teresa Hoffert, age 59, from Emmetsburg, Iowa, was convicted of one count of mail fraud.

At the plea hearing, Hoffert admitted defrauding others out of money and causing the United States mail to be used as part of the fraud. According to information disclosed in court, when acting as a settlement agent, Hoffert failed to pay off prior mortgage loans that were supposed to be paid off following mortgage loan refinancings. In other instances, the prior mortgage loans were paid off late.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Under the plea agreement, Hoffert faces a sentence of 57 months’ imprisonment. Hoffert also faces a maximum possible fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of money involved in the offense, a special assessment of $100, and up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Hoffert will also be ordered to pay full restitution to all victims of her related criminal conduct.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Peter Deegan and was investigated by the Spencer, Iowa, Police Department, the Emmetsburg, Iowa, Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 10-3042.