(Sioux City, Iowa) – A man who was convicted by a jury for receiving and possessing child pornography was sentenced, this past Thursday (May 16, 2024), to 16 years in federal prison. 35-year-old Anthony Michael Tucker, from Sioux City, Iowa, received the prison term after a jury verdict finding him guilty of Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of Child Pornography.

Evidence at trial showed that in January 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a Cybertip from Google that accounts belonging to Tucker contained over 85 images and seven videos of child sexual abuse material.  The images and videos included depictions of sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as prepubescent children and toddlers.

During trial, jurors watched a video-recorded interview of Tucker speaking with an Iowa DCI agent where he admitted he was responsible for the content on the Google account and stated, “there’s more that I run across…those are just the ones I kept.”  In 2010, Tucker was previously convicted for Lascivious Acts with a Child.  Tucker, then 21, had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female.

Tucker was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Tucker was sentenced to 192 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims of the offense.  He was also ordered to pay $1,200 in additional fines and assessments.  Tucker must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Tucker 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc

For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”