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October 21, 2014Des Moines, IA, United StatesChild Exploitation

Iowa man sentenced to 5 years in prison for possessing child pornography

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa man was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to five years in prison for possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, Southern District of Iowa.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation, and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Domenic “John” Pighetti, 70, of Polk City, Iowa, was sentenced Oct. 22 by U.S. District Court Chief Judge James E. Gritzner to five years in prison for knowingly possessing child pornography. Pighetti was further ordered to serve five years of supervised release, pay a $17,500 fine, and pay $100 to the Crime Victims Fund. Pighetti must also forfeit the computer equipment and media involved in the offense.

Evidence in this case included that Pighetti started collecting child pornography in 2006 after reading in the newspaper about someone else being caught doing so by law enforcement. Pighetti sought out and collected child pornography from 2006 until he was caught by law enforcement authorities in 2013.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including producing and distributing online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

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