SIOUX CITY — An Northern Iowa man who prosecutors say used Snapchat to prey on minor girls across the United States and overseas has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for child exploitation crimes.
Bryce White, 42, of Dow City, was sentenced June 18, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City after pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography.
Federal prosecutors said White carried out a disturbing online exploitation scheme between August 2023 and August 2024, using Snapchat to pose as a minor and coerce young girls into sending sexually explicit images and videos.
According to federal authorities, White sent more than 95,000 messages to more than 1,400 unique users across more than a dozen states.
The investigation began in September 2023 after law enforcement in Midland, Michigan, received a complaint from the parents of a minor girl. The parents had discovered inappropriate Snapchat messages between their daughter and White.
Investigators traced the Snapchat account back to White in Dow City. Iowa agents then obtained and executed search warrants for White’s electronic devices.
A forensic examination of those devices revealed the massive scope of White’s online activity, prosecutors said.
Federal authorities said White received 14 videos, 180 images of child sexual abuse material and more than 20,000 images of child erotica. Prosecutors said the material included prepubescent children and toddlers, as well as sadistic or masochistic content.
White also communicated with at least one minor that “when she was legal” he would “come get her,” according to prosecutors.
United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced White to 420 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.
There is no parole in the federal prison system.
White remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program brings together federal, state and local resources to find offenders, prosecute child predators and identify victims.
The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Midland County, Michigan Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit prosecuted the case.
The sentence marks one of the latest federal child exploitation cases tied to social media platforms, where predators can pose as minors, contact victims across state lines and pressure children into sending images before parents or law enforcement discover the abuse.
Federal officials continue to urge parents to monitor children’s online activity, report suspicious messages and talk with minors about the dangers of communicating with unknown people through apps and social media.