Department of Justice
United States Attorney Stephanie M. Rose
Northern District of Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2010
FORMER WATERLOO MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY OFFENSES
William Seal, age 40, formerly of Waterloo, Iowa, and now living in Wyoming, has been charged with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. The charges are contained in an Indictment unsealed today in United States District Court in Cedar Rapids.
The Indictment alleges that, between November 2008 and January 2009, Seal knowingly received and possessed depictions of child pornography.
If convicted on all charges, Seal faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years' imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 30 years' imprisonment, a
$500,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and up to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.
Seal appeared today in federal court in Cedar Rapids and was held without bond.
Seal's next appearance for a detention hearing is set for September 23, 2010.
As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Waterloo Police Department, the Black Hawk County
Sheriff's Office, and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
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 United States Attorneys' Offices and the
Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe
Childhood marshals' federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
