Urbana man sentenced to 30 years for molesting, sex exploitation of 4-year-old

CEDAR RAPIDS — A man who molested and sexually exploited a 4-year-old child was sentenced this week to 30 years in federal prison.

Michael Heinitz, 20, of Urbana, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in July to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. During the plea hearing, Heinitz admitted that he recorded multiple sexually explicit videos of a 4-year-old girl between August and September 2022.

According to the plea, Heinitz also possessed over 200 images and videos of child pornography between January and October 2022. He also received over 200 images and videos of child pornography from others on the internet.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Tremmel, in his sentencing document, said Heinitz bragged about his deviant behavior and about how long he had been grooming the 4-year-old in online communications with others. He showed no compassion for his victims and treated them as “objects,” the prosecutor said.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams also ordered Heinitz pay $21,000 in restitution to seven victims depicted in child pornography he possessed. He must also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Tremmel and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Liz Dupuich and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Urbana Police Department and Iowa State Patrol.

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