Cedar Rapids man pleads guilty to distributing child pornography

CEDAR RAPIDS - A Cedar Rapids man pleaded guilty Friday to distributing child pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa, 40-year-old Scott Ristine admitted on Friday to distributing child pornography in 2015. Ristine also admitted to previously being convicted of receiving child pornography in 2002.

Ristine - who remains in federal custody - faces 15-40 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a $5,100 in special assessments and five years to life of supervised release following his prison term. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, which is an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combate child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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