A man from Gladbrook, Iowa, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. John Thomas Carstensen, 50, received the sentence following his guilty plea on November 12, 2024, to one count of receipt of child pornography.
In his plea agreement, Carstensen admitted to knowingly receiving depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct between August 2021 and August 2022. He also has a prior felony conviction for sexual exploitation of a minor from 1993.
United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Carstensen in Cedar Rapids, ordering him to serve 180 months in prison. Carstensen was also ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve a five-year supervised release term after his imprisonment. The federal system does not allow parole.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. The project aims to tackle child sexual exploitation by coordinating with federal, state, and local resources to prosecute offenders and rescue victims. Further information on Project Safe Childhood and Internet safety education can be found on the Department of Justice's website.
Carstensen remains in the custody of the United States Marshal and will be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force.