Waterloo Man Gets 5-Year Sentence for Child Pornography

Waterloo’s Forrest Rindels, aged 60, has been handed a five-year federal prison sentence for his involvement in the receipt of child pornography. The sentence, which followed a guilty plea on April 28, 2016, comes after Rindels admitted to knowingly receiving explicit material involving minors between 2001 and 2015.

The sentencing hearing took place in Cedar Rapids before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett. In addition to the prison term, Rindels was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment, a $1,000 fine, and must serve a subsequent seven-year period of supervised release. He is also required to comply with sex offender registration and public notification laws.

Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel oversaw the prosecution, which was conducted in conjunction with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department. The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative led by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Project Safe Childhood, launched in 2006, utilizes federal, state, and local resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children sexually. For more information on this initiative or tips on internet safety education, readers are directed to visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Court records for this case, which has the file number CR 16-2006, can be accessed at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow the United States Attorneys’ Offices on Twitter @USAO_NDIA for more updates.