COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced on March 16, 2023, to 295 months in prison following his plea of guilty to sexual exploitation of a child. The investigation into Brandon Scott Holmes, 43, started in 2021 after law enforcement found evidence that an IP address linked to Holmes was receiving child pornography from a peer-to-peer program.

In October 2021, FBI executed a search warrant at Holmes’ residence. Forensic analysis of several seized devices identified thousands of images and videos of child pornography. Holmes also produced images and videos of child pornography. Holmes must serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case.

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. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.