Des Moines, IA – A man from Urbandale was sentenced today (Friday) to serve nearly 6 1/2 years in prison. The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, reports 44-year-old Russell Glenn Crane was ordered to serve 78 months in prison following his guilty plea to a charge of Possession of Child Pornography. Crane must also serve a five-year term of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on or about January 6, 2022, Crane knowingly possessed visual depictions of child pornography, including over 20,000 images and at least four videos, some of which depicted minors younger than 12 years old. Using several electronic devices, Crane had collected the child pornography over the course of at least a decade by downloading the material from various internet sites.

The Urbandale Police Department, Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force investigated the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.