Tyler Konigsmark, age 20, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids for a detention hearing. Konigsmark was ordered held without bond pending further proceedings.
Konigsmark has been charged with sexual exploitation of children and enticement of minors. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on July 21, 2016. The Indictment alleges that, between April and May 2016, Konigsmark persuaded and attempted to persuade, induce, and entice minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purposes of producing visual depictions and engaging in sexual activity.
According to information disclosed at today’s detention hearing, between March and May 2016, Konigsmark was employed by the Cedar Rapids Community School District as a school bus attendant. Konigsmark was an attendant on buses servicing, at least, Taft and Harding middle schools. While working as a bus attendant, Konigsmark allegedly used a mobile telephone to contact two minor females, ages 13 and 14, and attempted to persuade the girls to send him nude images of themselves. Konigsmark also allegedly contacted a third minor female, age 12, and persuaded the girl to send him nude images of herself. The 12-year-old girl allegedly sent him nude images of her breasts and vagina. Konigsmark also allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with the 12-year-old girl.
Konigsmark’s next appearance for trial is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2016, in Cedar Rapids. If convicted, Konigsmark faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, a $200 special assessment, and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and is being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Hiawatha Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids 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 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."
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 16-57. Additional information about the case can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndia/united-states-v-tyler-konigsmark-16-cr-00057.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
