CEDAR RAPIDS – A man who distributed child pornography pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Cedar Rapids.
Craig Watters, age 30, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of distribution of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Watters admitted that, in 2014, he knowingly distributed child pornography. He also admitted that he was convicted of receipt of child pornography in the Northern District of Iowa in 2009.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Watters remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Watters faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
