Wesley Ham Pleads Guilty

A 32-year-old man from Arthur, Iowa, has pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography in federal court. Wesley Ham, the defendant, was convicted of the crime on August 20, 2025, in Sioux City.

At the plea hearing, evidence showed that between March 2022, and September 2023, Ham received and possessed more than 94 images and 79 videos of child pornography. A forensic review of Ham’s computer and phone revealed that he possessed 370 images and 3 videos of child pornography, some of which included infants and toddlers as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct.

Ham admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography but not distributing it, although he did admit to distributing child pornography in a state of Iowa case in 2022. The guilty plea is a significant development in the case, which 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.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Ham remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (Cyber Crime Bureau) and the Ida County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R Hamit. This case highlights the importance of Project Safe Childhood, which marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. The case file number is 25-3017, and court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA for updates on this and other cases.

The guilty plea of Wesley Ham serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Department of Justice and its partners will continue to work tirelessly to protect children and hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

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