A Tripoli, Iowa man has been sentenced to more than 38 years in federal prison for child exploitation offenses. Austin Kingsbury, 24, pleaded guilty on June 20, 2025, to charges of distributing and possessing child pornography.
During sentencing, evidence showed that Kingsbury sexually abused three children over several years. He also photographed himself abusing one of the victims. Authorities determined that in May 2023 he distributed child pornography to multiple individuals and downloaded such material between August 2022 and June 2023.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams handed down the sentence in Cedar Rapids. Kingsbury received a term of imprisonment totaling 460 months and 22 days. He was also ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve five years of supervised release following his prison term. Federal law does not allow parole.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program brings together federal, state, and local agencies to find and prosecute those who exploit children and to identify victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.
Kingsbury remains in custody with the United States Marshals Service pending transfer to a federal prison facility.
Assistant United States Attorneys Devra T. Hake and Dillan Edwards prosecuted the case. The investigation involved several agencies: the Department of Homeland Security; Tripoli Police Department; Bremer County Sheriff’s Office; Cedar Rapids Police Department; Anchorage, Alaska Police Department; and Alaska State Troopers Technical Crimes Unit.
