Man gets prison time on child pornography charge

A Black Hawk County man was sentenced last week to more than 10 years in federal prison on a child pornography charge.

Robert Turner, 35, formerly of Cedar Falls, pleaded guilty in January to one count of receipt of child pornography. During the plea hearing, Turner admitted he used the internet to receive sexually explicit images of child pornography between 2001 and 2013. The images were of children under the age of 12.

The plea agreement shows Turner had at least 7,000 images and 23 videos on his computer.  

During the plea hearing, Turner said he had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and schizoaffective disorder, which made him hear voices in his head, but he said in court he wasn't having any problems that day. Turner's attorney confirmed he was competent and understood the proceedings.

U.S. District Chief Judge Linda Reade dismissed the remaining charges - three counts of possession of child pornography - against Turner as part of the plea agreement before sentencing him to 121 months in prison. She also ordered Turner to pay $2,000 in victim's restitution, and he must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release following his prison time.

Turner must also comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Tremmel prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Cedar Falls Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.