Jonathan Sebert, age 24, of Clarion, Iowa, has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed on Dec. 28, 2016, in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, between 2012 and 2016, Sebert produced, received, and possessed child pornography.
If convicted, Sebert faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 70 years’ imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, $15,300 in special assessments, and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.
Sebert appeared for a detention hearing on Dec. 30, 2016, in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond. Sebert’s next appearance for trial is set for Feb. 27, 2017.
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 Wright County Sheriff’s Office and the Mason 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 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 16-3054.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
