Brian Oakleaf, a 52-year-old former employee of Storm Lake, Iowa, pleaded guilty on September 9, 2025, to two counts of possession of child pornography in federal court in Sioux City.
According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, Oakleaf received, distributed, and possessed child pornography between March 1, 2022, and July 29, 2024. The material included depictions involving prepubescent minors or minors under the age of twelve. Law enforcement began investigating in May 2024 after identifying an IP address involved in sharing child sexual abuse material through a file sharing program. This investigation led authorities to Oakleaf.
On July 29, 2024, investigators executed search warrants at Oakleaf’s home and his office at Storm Lake City Hall. They seized cell phones and other electronic devices. Forensic analysis revealed that Oakleaf used the targeted file sharing program and searched for known child exploitation terms to obtain illegal content. He also used the alias Dan Dyle while viewing and trading this material.
Oakleaf admitted as part of his plea agreement that he possessed one video over ninety minutes long and more than twenty thousand images of child pornography across two phones. The materials included depictions of toddlers as well as content involving bondage and sadistic or masochistic conduct.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address increasing cases of child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies (https://www.justice.gov/psc). Project Safe Childhood aims to find offenders who exploit children online and help identify victims.
After entering his guilty plea, Oakleaf was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals pending sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Sentencing will be scheduled after a presentence report is completed. He faces up to forty years in prison, fines up to $500,000, and at least five years’ supervised release if convicted; there is no parole available in the federal system.
For additional information about Project Safe Childhood or internet safety education resources for families or educators visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
