A Tiffin, Iowa man has been sentenced to 37 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to sexually exploit a child. Benjamin Paul Egli, 30, pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024, to charges of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and possession of child pornography.
According to evidence presented at sentencing, Egli participated in multiple Snapchat and video calls with his paramour in another state during 2023. While located in North Liberty, Iowa for some of these calls, Egli directed his paramour to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her toddler child. He recorded these calls and received photographs and videos from his paramour depicting similar acts. Authorities also found that Egli possessed hundreds of images of child pornography involving children performing sexual acts on animals as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Egli in Cedar Rapids to 444 months’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay $6,000 in restitution. After serving his prison term, Egli will be subject to five years of supervised release. There is no parole available under the federal system.
“This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab ‘resources.'”
Egli remains in custody awaiting transfer to a federal prison.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Tipton Police Department, and Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake.
