Northeast Iowa Man Headed to Federal Prison for Distributing, Possessing Child Pornography

A northeast Iowa man who distributed and possessed child pornography pleaded guilty last Friday (06.20) in federal court in Cedar Rapids. 

At the plea hearing, 23-year-old Austin Kingsbury of Tripoli admitted that, between August 2022 and June 2023, he distributed visual depictions of child pornography.  Between December 2022 and June 2023, Kingsbury also possessed child pornography, including of prepubescent children, on his cellular telephone.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  In the meantime, Kingsbury remains in custody of United States Marshals.  

Kingsbury faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison, up to a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, plus a possible fine of up to $500,00, over $60,000 in special assessments, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

 The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Tripoli Police, Bremer County Sheriff’s Office, Cedar Rapids Police Department,  Anchorage, Alaska Police Department, and Alaska State Troopers Technical Crimes Unit.