Faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in federal prison
A man who produced child pornography involving a prepubescent child and traded child pornography with others was convicted by a jury on Friday, March 23, 2018, after a four-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Christian Hansen, age 40, from Tipton, Iowa, was convicted of one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of sexually exploiting a child while being required to register as a sex offender, one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and five counts of possession of child pornography.
The evidence at trial showed that, in July 2017, Hansen took photos of a prepubescent child’s genital area and e-mailed the photos to others. Hansen also traded child pornography with others and possessed child pornography on multiple devices. At the time of these offenses, Hansen was required to register as a sex offender based on his 2011 Nebraska convictions for three counts of possession of child pornography.
Sentencing before Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hansen remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Hansen faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 240 years’ imprisonment, a $2,250,000 fine, $45,900 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 Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Tipton 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 17-99.
Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
