CEDAR RAPIDS – A Waterloo man is guilty a second time of possessing child pornography and will spend at least a decade behind bars.
Forrest Rindels, age 69, of Waterloo, was convicted of two counts of possession of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Rindels admitted that, between 2021 and 2022, he knowingly possessed child pornography on a tablet and a micro SD card. He also admitted that he was convicted of receipt of child pornography in the Northern District of Iowa in 2016.
Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Rindels remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Rindels faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and supervised release for 5 years to life following any imprisonment.
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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Waterloo Police Department.