DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines man was arrested on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, and made his initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Jeffrey Walter Gray, 61, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Iowa with Sexual Exploitation of a Child (and Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child) and Possession of Child Pornography.

According to the allegations in the unsealed complaint, Gray, from as early as approximately 2005 to at least approximately 2016, used minors to produce child sexual abuse material. Some of this material was allegedly created at the photography business Gray owned and operated in the Des Moines area—Wicked Imagery. The material included images from hidden cameras placed in the changing rooms at Wicked Imagery to capture videos and/or images of minor children undressing. In November 2023, investigators recovered from Gray’s residence a hard drive which was later determined to contain child sexual abuse material.

To date, investigators have identified approximately fifteen minor victims depicted in child sexual abuse material seized from Gray’s residence. Investigators request the public’s assistance in identifying other minors. If you believe that you or your minor children may have been victimized by Gray, or if you have information relevant to this investigation, please  visit www.fbi.gov/JeffreyGray.WickedImagery or email WickedImagery@fbi.gov.

This case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case with the assistance of the Des Moines Police Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.