Oskaloosa Man Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child

DES MOINES, Iowa - An Oskaloosa man was sentenced on September 10, 2025, to 18 years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a child.

According to public court documents, Matthew Scott Beal, 42, produced child pornography of a minor child. Beal also used the internet to distribute four videos of child pornography to an undercover law enforcement account operated by the Homeland Security's Newark Child Exploitation Task Force. Later, law enforcement seized Beal's phone during a search of his home in Oskaloosa. Beal's phone contained over 100 images and videos of child pornography, including prepubescent children engaged in sex acts with adults.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Beal will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Beal was also ordered to pay $15,938.50 in restitution to multiple victims.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Homeland Security Investigations Newark Child Exploitation Group, the Oskaloosa Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.