Tipton man sentenced to 50 years for sexual exploitation and child porn

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Tipton man was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child and distributing and possessing child pornography.

Christian Hansen, 40, was convicted by a jury in March in U.S. District Court of one count of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of sexually exploiting a child while being required to register as a sex offender, one count of distribution of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, and five counts of possession of child pornography.

U.S. District Chief Judge Leonard Strand said, based on the number of charges and enhancements, Hansen's advisory sentencing guideline would have been 240 years. None of the charges carry a life penalty, Strand said, so he found that sentencing would have be excessive.

Strand said Hansen traded two photos of his infant relative with others on the internet to receive child pornography but there was never any accusations of Hansen committing any 'hands-on” sexual abuse with that child or any other.

Strand said Hansen's previous conviction for child pornography in 2011 was an aggravating factor.

Evidence during the trial showed that Hansen took explicit photos of a infant and emailed the photos to others over the internet in July. Hansen also traded child pornography with others and possessed child pornography on multiple electronic devices.

At the time of these offenses, Hansen was required to register as a sex offender based on his 2011 Nebraska convictions for three counts of possession of child pornography.

Hansen, during sentencing, apologized to his family, who attended Wednesday's hearing, for having to go through the trial with him.

Strand also ordered Hansen to pay $24,560 in restitution for the infant and $8,000 for victims in a known child pornography series.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Tremmel and investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Tipton Police Department, and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

This case was 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.

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