Black Hawk County man pleads guilty to child porn

A 34-year-old Black Hawk County man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to receiving child pornography and faces 5 to 20 years in prison.

Robert Thompson Turner pleaded guilty to one count of the receipt of child pornography. The remaining charges will be dismissed at sentencing as part of the plea agreement. He admitted during the hearing that he received sexually explicit images of children under the age of 12 on the internet from August 2001 through Aug. 2013. The plea agreement shows he had, at least, 7,000 images and 23 videos on his computer.

Turner admitted during the hearing he had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and schizoaffective disorder, which made him hear voices in his head, but he said he didn't have any problems on Tuesday. Turner currently lives in the town of Reinbeck, but formerly hailed from Cedar Falls.

U.S. Magistrate Jon Scoles asked Turner's public defender, Melanie Keiper, if she thought he was competent and understood the proceedings.

Keiper confirmed he did and Turner also said he understood.

Turner faces 5 to 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine. He also may be ordered to pay victim restitution and served supervised release following a prison term of five years to life. Turner also will have to register as a sex offender following his prison time.