Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Waterloo man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography. Forrest Rindels, 69, admitted during his plea hearing that he knowingly possessed child pornography on a tablet and a micro-SD card between 2021 and 2022. He also acknowledged a prior conviction for receipt of child pornography in the Northern District of Iowa in 2016.
The sentencing took place in Cedar Rapids before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Rindels received a sentence of 144 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to pay $42,000 in restitution to 14 victims depicted in the materials he possessed. Following his release from prison, Rindels will be subject to five years of supervised release. Federal prisoners are not eligible for parole.
Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Waterloo Police Department.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse by bringing together federal, state, and local resources to identify offenders and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.
