Indian man in Iowa City sentenced on child pornography charges

- ADVERTISEMENT -

An Indian national living in Iowa City was sentenced October 28, 2022, to more than 17 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges relating to receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Sameer Chandulal Patel, 30, was sentenced to 210 months in prison on the pornography charges. He would also have to serve another five years of supervised release after serving the term, unless he is deported from the United States, according to a November. 1 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

According to court documents quoted in the press release, it was a Cybertip received from a social media application which indicated that child pornography had been uploaded to their site.

Further investigation revealed that Patel, while living in Iowa City, had distributed, received, and possessed more than 18,000 images and 14,000 videos containing child pornography from 2016 to 2021.

On June 17, 2022, Patel pleaded guilty to the charge.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety investigated the case.