HSI investigation results in 216 months in federal prison for Iowa man
LeClaire man sentenced for receiving child exploitation material
DAVENPORT, Iowa — A judge sentenced Paul John McNicol, 30, of LeClaire, Iowa to 216 months in prison for receiving child pornography on Nov. 30 following a Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, probe.
The judge ordered McNicol to pay $10,000 in restitution and a $5,000 special assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. The judge also ordered McNicol to serve 10 years of supervised release after his confinement.
Law enforcement identified McNicol after he uploaded sexually explicit images of minors to the Kik Messenger app. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at McNicol’s residence and seized electronic devices that contained numerous images and videos depicting child pornography.
McNicol was required to register as a sex offender following 2014 convictions for aggravated criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual abuse in Illinois.
Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI Kansas City Joshua Armstrong and U.S. Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa announced the offender’s sentence.
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 to reduce the incidence of sexual exploitation of children. Anyone with knowledge of a child being sexually abused are encouraged to call the Iowa Sexual Abuse Hotline at 800-284-7821.
Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.
Homeland Security Investigations
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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