Bettendorf man sentenced for receiving/distributing child porn

A Bettendorf man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for receiving/distributing child pornography and being an unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children claiming that Jakob Paul Newberry, 29, had shared files containing child sexual abuse material from an iCloud account. Officers later obtained another tip that Newberry had uploaded child sexual abuse material using a Kik account. During their investigation, officers found that Newberry had also used Instagram to obtain nude photographs of girls and had attempted to extort them into sending other sexual images. Officers also found that Newberry possessed firearms as an unlawful drug user.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Newberry must serve five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement and the case was investigated by the Scott County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood uses federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute those who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, click here. For information about internet safety education, click here and click on the resources tab.

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