Daniel Mines Guilty

Daniel Mines, a 39-year-old man from Lake Mills, Iowa, has pleaded guilty to distributing and receiving child pornography in federal court in Sioux City.

Mines admitted to distributing and receiving child pornography between October 2010 and March 2011, using cell phones to trade the explicit material with others. He was convicted of one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.

The plea hearing revealed the shocking details of Mines’ crimes, which were investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel is prosecuting the case.

Mines faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, a $200 special assessment, and supervised release for 5 years to life following his imprisonment. He was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl, with the case file number CR 13-3017. The sentencing of Daniel Mines will be set after a presentence report is prepared, and will be overseen by United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett.

The guilty plea of Daniel Mines serves as a reminder of the importance of Project Safe Childhood and the need for continued efforts to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Department of Justice and its partners will continue to work tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice and protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

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