A Muscatine man was sentenced on April 7 to 15 years in federal prison for transportation of child pornography.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement and federal prosecutors to address crimes involving the exploitation of children online.
According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received CyberTips that an account, later determined to be associated with Clay Dereck Calkins, 45, received and uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement seized Calkins’s phone during a March 2023 search at his Muscatine residence. A forensic examination of the phone showed that Calkins used the device to receive, view and possess images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. This conduct occurred during the time that Calkins was on probation for a 2022 child pornography conviction in the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County.
After completing his term of imprisonment, Calkins will be required to serve an eight-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Calkins was also ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse online. Project Safe Childhood brings together resources from federal, state, and local agencies to prosecute offenders who exploit children through internet crimes as well as identify victims.
