Storm Lake Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

A man who received child pornography was sentenced August 9, 2019, to 6 years in federal prison. 

James Gailey, 49, from Storm Lake, Iowa, received the prison term after pleading guilty to one count of child pornography on March 4, 2019.

At the plea hearing, Gailey admitted that in October 2017 he utilized a Dropbox account to receive child pornography.  Gailey further admitted that in January 2018 he utilized a second Dropbox account to receive additional child pornography.  Gailey also admitted that he received images and videos of sexual abuse or exploitation of victims as young as infants or toddlers.  Evidence at sentencing further showed that Gailey’s offense involved over 600 images of child pornography.

Gailey was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Gailey was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to make $18,000 in restitution.  He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Gailey is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

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.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.”  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala M. Steenholdt and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-4065.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.