Mason City man fined and placed on sex offender registry for sending obscene material to child

MASON CITY – A Mason City man is the latest member of the Iowa sex offender registry after his arrest and conviction for disseminating obscene material to a child.

Police in Mason City investigated a case of lewd conduct back in February of this year. Records show Mason City police brought a charge of telephone dissemination of obscene material, an aggravated misdemeanor, against 34-year-old Carson Jerome Engels of Mason City. The crime took place on February 17, 2025, against a teen between the ages of 14 and 17. The Mason City police department then filed the charge on February 27. An arrest warrant was issued the next day, and Engels was finally booked on that warrant on the evening of March 18, 2025 at the Cerro Gordo county jail.

On April 15, Engels (pictured at top) entered a not-guilty plea, but quickly changed his tune. The very next day, on April 16, his public defender entered a guilty plea on his behalf in connection to a plea deal to the same charge. On April 17, Judge Adam Sauer laid down a sentence upon Engels of a suspended 2-year-prison sentence, 2 years of probation, and a $1,379.25 bill owed to Iowa courts. The judge allowed him a payment plan to address his financial obligation. Engels was also banished to the Iowa sex offender registry for an indeterminate amount of time.