Former Linn County reserve deputy sheriff convicted of child porn

CEDAR RAPIDS — A former Linn County reserve deputy sheriff, who received over 160,000 files of child pornography, pleaded Monday and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and possibly more.

Gordon Grabau, 51, of Marion, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, Grabau admitted he knowingly received and attempted to receive visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct between December 2014 and June 2021.

During a July 1, 2021, search of his Marion home, officers seized numerous digital storage devices, such as hard drives and thumb drives, according to the plea. Law enforcement who examined the devices found those contained over 160,000 files of child pornography.

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner was at Grabau’s residence during the search to retrieve any items belonging to the county, such as clothing and equipment, an FBI agent testified in July during Grabau’s detention hearing.

During the plea, Grabau admitted those files included material involving children under the age of 12. The material also included images portraying sadistic and masochistic conduct.

After Grabau was indicted, Gardner said Grabau was immediately placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. The administrative leave prohibited Grabau from participating in any departmental operations and department- sponsored activities, including extra jobs, and/or the use of any departmental resources.

On July 17, 2021, Grabau submitted his letter of resignation from the voluntary position. He had been with the department since 2000.

Reserve deputies assist deputies in routine activities, such as traffic and crowd control and court security. In most cases, they have the power to arrest.

U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams will sentence Grabau after a presentencing report is prepared.

Grabau faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and could face up to 20 years. He also faces up to a $250,000 fine and at least five years and up to life on supervised release following any prison term.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Morfitt and was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Marion Police Department.

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