Woodbury man sentenced to 29 years for sex exploitation

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Woodbury County man, who took sexually explicit photos of a 13-year-old and distributed them over the internet to an undercover police officer, was sentenced Friday to over 29 years in federal prison.

Joshua Baird, 40, of Anthon, pleaded guilty last year to sexual exploitation of a child.

During the plea hearing, Baird admitted he knowingly photographed a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct with his cellphone in February of last year. Evidence at sentencing showed he later distributed these photos to an undercover officer because he thought they would “impress” her.

Baird also engaged in an inappropriate internet relationship with a teenager in Australia.

During sentencing, Baird referred to his sentence as a “court-ordered spiritual retreat” and said he was “excited” to go to prison.

U.S. District Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Baird to 354 months in prison. He also was ordered to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term.

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