A 22-year-old West Branch, Iowa, man has pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography in federal court. Brady Verlo admitted to the crime, which took place between June 2013 and December 2013.
At the plea hearing, Verlo acknowledged that he distributed depictions of child pornography that had been transported to him through the Internet and cell phone messaging services. He also admitted to possessing over 20,000 images and 900 videos of child pornography.
Verlo was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody 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, a $100 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following his imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa City Police Department, and the West Branch Police Department. 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.
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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is CR 14-9. Verlo’s sentencing will be set after a presentence report is prepared, and it will be held before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.
The guilty plea is a significant step in the fight against child exploitation, and it highlights the importance of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the Department of Justice. The case against Verlo demonstrates the commitment of federal and local authorities to protecting children from abuse and exploitation.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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