Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charges

Michael Bordman, 23, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, admitted in federal court on December 22, 2016, to producing and possessing child pornography—crimes that carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years behind bars. The guilty plea was entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, marking a grim milestone in a case that exposed the dark underbelly of digital predation.

Bordman pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. During the plea hearing, he acknowledged that between 2015 and 2016, he used a minor to produce sexually explicit images. He further admitted that he stored child pornography on a personal cell phone, evidence seized during a coordinated law enforcement raid.

The investigation, led by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, peeled back layers of digital activity that revealed Bordman’s deliberate, predatory conduct. The evidence left little room for denial—his own admissions sealed the case before it ever reached trial.

Now awaiting sentencing by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade, Bordman remains in federal custody. A presentence report is being prepared to guide the court’s decision. He faces up to 50 years in prison, a $500,000 fine, $10,200 in special assessments, and a term of supervised release ranging from 5 years to life.

This prosecution was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the explosion of child sexual abuse material online. The program unites federal, state, and local agencies to hunt down predators and rescue victims—exactly the kind of coordinated effort that dismantled Bordman’s hidden world of exploitation.

The case, filed as CR 16-81, is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel. Court records are accessible via the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic filing system. For more on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Follow updates from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.

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