Des Moines Man Sentenced to 188 Months in Prison for Distribution of Child Pornography

Des Moines, IA—On March 8, 2019, Joseph Marchesini, age 35, of Des Moines, Iowa, appeared before United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger and was sentenced to 188 months imprisonment for distribution of child pornography, with eight years of supervised release to follow. Marchesini pleaded guilty in October 2018 to distribution of child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252A(a)(2).

As a part of his plea agreement, Marchesini admitted in July 2016 he distributed child pornography over the internet. The child pornography he distributed included visual depictions of children being sexually assaulted. Marchesini possessed images and videos of the sexual assault of prepubescent children as young as preschool. Marchesini was ordered to pay $3,000 to an identified victim depicted in the child pornography he possessed.

The investigation was conducted by the Des Moines Police Department, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.