CEDAR RAPIDS – An Iowa man who sexually exploited children in the Philippines was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
William Meyer, age 65, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence after a February 4, 2020 guilty plea to one count of sexual exploitation of children. At the plea hearing, Meyer admitted that between 2012 and 2019 he persuaded, induced, or enticed minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions or transmitting live visual depictions of this conduct. The record at the sentencing hearing established that Meyer had traveled to the Philippines for charitable work. The live visual depictions included sexually explicit Skype video transmissions from at least six children in the Philippines, including three prepubescent girls.
Meyer was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Meyer was sentenced to 360 months’ imprisonment and fined $50,000. Special assessments of $5,100 were imposed and Meyer must also serve a five-year term of supervised release. He must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.