Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

A man who possessed child pornography pled guilty on July 8, 2019, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Troy French, age 29, from Cedar Rapids, was convicted of one count of possession of child pornography.  At the plea hearing, French admitted that, between 2012 and 2017, he knowingly possessed child pornography, including one or more depictions of prepubescent children.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  French was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.    French faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $5,100 in special assessments, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by 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 the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”