Appeals court upholds maximum sentence for Cedar Rapids man who exploited minors

A Cedar Rapids man will serve the maximum sentence for sexually exploiting underage girls after an appeals court upheld the 42-year prison term he was sentenced to last spring.

Lucas Robinson pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of children, possession of child pornography and extortion last year after he coerced 12 girls - ages 12 to 15 - into sending him sexually explicit photos of themselves to him through online chat rooms, Skype, Facebook and other websites. When they refused to send him additional images, he threatened to distribute them to websites and send the photos to their parents and friends.

Four of the girls were from Cedar Rapids.

In an appeal, Robinson argued his sentence was unreasonable. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold his 42-year prison sentence last week.