Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
Cleon Mitchell, Jr., a 46-year-old resident of Mason City, Iowa, was sentenced on September 4, 2025, to twelve years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Mitchell had pleaded guilty to the charge on April 30, 2025, at a federal court hearing in Sioux City.
According to evidence presented at the plea and sentencing hearings, Mitchell used the social media applications Kik and Snapchat between August 2022 and April 2024 to receive and possess images and videos depicting child pornography involving prepubescent minors or children under the age of twelve. The case began when Snapchat reported Mitchell’s account to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The organization then notified law enforcement authorities.
Investigators linked the online account to Mitchell and obtained a search warrant for his residence and electronic devices. During execution of the warrant, Mitchell admitted that he had received and possessed child pornography and stated it could be found on his phone. A forensic analysis later revealed that he possessed thirty videos and fifty images containing child pornography. Some of these materials depicted sadistic or masochistic acts as well as prepubescent children and toddlers.
Mitchell also admitted to engaging in a pattern of activity involving sexual abuse or exploitation of a minor. In February 2025, he pleaded guilty in Cerro Gordo County District Court to Lascivious Acts with a Child.
The case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation nationwide. The program brings together resources from federal, state, and local agencies to identify offenders who exploit children online as well as their victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at www.usdoj.gov/psc.
"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.”"
