Attorney Richard D. Westphal, of the Southern District of Iowa, announced Justin Treanton, 37, of Bettendorf, Iowa, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the production and possession of child pornography in a March 2 news release.
Treanton was apprehended after reportedly sending pornography of a 4-year-old to an undercover police officer in New Zealand. The pornography, which Treanton reportedly produced through hands-on abuse of the child, was traced back to his Bettendorf residence. With this, law enforcement was able to produce a search warrant for Treanton's phone. After searching through it, they located several other images of child pornography reportedly depicting infants, toddlers and violence.
Treanton was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for the production of the pornography and 20 years in prison for its possession. After serving his sentences, Treanton will be required to register as a sex offender and will be under supervised release for the rest of his life.
The case was prosecuted as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which was started in 2006 to combat the exploitation of children. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, the Bettendorf Police Department and the Scott County Sheriff's Office.
