Timothy T. Duax U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa
A Cedar Rapids man has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple child exploitation offenses. Kevin Patrick Sullivan, 43, admitted to sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography during his plea hearing on August 20, 2025.
According to evidence presented at sentencing, between 2013 and 2015 Sullivan recorded himself sexually abusing a child and made recordings of the child while nude. Law enforcement officers discovered these recordings stored on hard drives during a search of Sullivan’s home in January 2025. Investigators also found that Sullivan had physically and sexually abused the victim in various ways from 2005 through 2016. Between 2013 and January 2025, he received and possessed thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography, including material involving infants as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct.
Sullivan was sentenced by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams in Cedar Rapids. He received a term of imprisonment totaling 480 months (40 years) and was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution. Upon release from prison, he will be required to serve five years under supervised release. There is no possibility for parole in the federal system.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake following an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at addressing the problem of child sexual exploitation and abuse across the country. The program brings together federal, state, and local resources to identify offenders who exploit children online or offline and helps rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Sullivan remains in custody with the United States Marshals Service pending transfer to a federal correctional facility.
