Davenport Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Production of Child Pornography

DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport man was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in federal prison for production and possession of child pornography.

According to public court documents, and evidence presented at sentencing, William Richard Trudell, 43, was identified by law enforcement as a person of interest after a cybertip was received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The cybertip from the MeWe social media platform reported that images of child pornography had been uploaded. Law enforcement traced the email that was used to upload the images back to Trudell. During a search of Trudell’s electronic devices, officers located hundreds of images of child pornography. The investigation also revealed that Trudell had been sexually abusing a minor child over a three-year period and produced child pornography images and videos of the abuse.

After completing his prison term, Trudell will be required to serve eight years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Trudell was also ordered to pay restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Davenport Police Department.

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. Any persons having knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 1-800-284-7821.