Iowa man sentenced to federal prison for child pornography convictions following an ICE HSI investigation

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A man who illegally possessed child pornography was sentenced Thursday to 4 years in federal prison following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Johnny E. Gutierrez, 21, from Melvin, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 21, 2021, guilty plea to two counts of possession of child pornography.

Gutierrez admitted that between February 2016 and November 2019, he possessed visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including depictions involving a minor who had not attained 12 years of age. Gutierrez further admitted to distributing child pornography to other individuals. As a result of the investigation, officers recovered approximately 51 images and 26 videos of child pornography from Gutierrez’s computer hard drive and approximately 38 images of child pornography from his cell phone.

Gutierrez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Gutierrez was sentenced to 48 months’ imprisonment and must pay a total of $3,000 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. Gutierrez 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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mikala Steenholdt and Patrick T. Greenwood.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (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 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Learn more about HSI’s child exploitation mission @HSIKansasCity.