A man from Prairie City, Iowa, has been sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography and an additional 24 months for violating the terms of his supervised release. The sentencing took place on November 18, 2025.
Court documents and evidence presented during sentencing revealed that Anthony Charles VanMeter, 55, was under federal supervised release following a previous conviction for possession of child pornography. In October 2024, law enforcement officers visited another individual who was also under federal supervision and found VanMeter at the residence. VanMeter admitted ownership of two cell phones located at the scene. One of these devices was later discovered to contain child sexual abuse material, including more than 75 photographs and 250 videos.
The court determined that VanMeter had violated the conditions of his supervised release related to his 2016 conviction for possession of child pornography in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. He was originally sentenced to 84 months in prison in 2016, released in 2022, and subsequently had his supervised release revoked three times: in October 2022, November 2023, and September 2024.
After serving his prison sentence, VanMeter will be subject to a ten-year term of supervised release. There is no possibility of parole in the federal system. He has also been ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman for the Southern District of Iowa announced the sentencing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
