DES MOINES, Iowa — A central Iowa man was sentenced in federal court Monday to 14 years in prison for possessing child pornography.
The sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Arleigh Joe Esqueda, 35, of Newton, Iowa, pleaded guilty to the charge and received an immediate sentence on one count of knowingly possessing child pornography that included images of prepubescent children under 12.
“Our office has no higher priority than protecting children from sexual predators,” explained U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. “We continue to investigate any and all persons we know who participates in the child pornography marketplace as a producer or consumer.”
According to court documents, Esqueda had more than 10 previous state-court convictions for various crimes, including one prior sex offense when he was 17. His collection of child pornography was accumulated over five years, and he had 351 images and 77 videos of child pornography on his computer when caught by authorities in 2013.
SENT TO PRISON
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