James Dean Gathercole, Child Pornography, Iowa 2020

Former Firefighter Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison for Child Pornography in Iowa

Des Moines, IA

May 28, 2020

A West Des Moines man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for transporting child pornography. James Dean Gathercole, 55, knowingly uploaded an image of child pornography to a 72-member Internet group chat room in May 2020.

Gathercole was also found to have knowingly possessed at least five videos and two images of child pornography on his cellular phone in September 2020. The former firefighter was employed at departments in the Des Moines metro area at the time of the alleged offenses.

U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case.

This case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Childhood” initiative, which was started in 2006 as a nationwide effort to combine law enforcement investigations and prosecutions, community action, and public awareness in order to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children.

As part of his sentence, Gathercole was ordered to serve a term of supervised release of seven years and pay a total of $40,000 in fines and a $100 special assessment.

Gathercole’s actions are a clear example of the dangers of child pornography and the importance of protecting our children from exploitation. We hope that this sentence will serve as a warning to others who would engage in similar behavior.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/pr/former-firefighter-sentenced-eight-years-prison-transportation-child-pornography