Cedar Rapids Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison For Sexually Exploiting Children

A man who sexually exploited children and possessed child pornography was sentenced April 27, 2026, to 25 years in federal prison.

Dawson Sanderson, age 24, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the sentence after a November 13, 2025, guilty plea to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. At the plea hearing, Sanderson admitted that, in 2021, he got minors to produce and send depictions of sexually explicit conduct to him. He also admitted he possessed child pornography. Information at the sentencing hearing showed that Sanderson used the Internet to attempt to persuade, induce, and entice four girls, and two of the girls sent him sexually explicit depictions of themselves.

Sanderson was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Sanderson was sentenced to 300 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term, and he must comply with all sex offender registration and public notification requirements.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mark Tremmel and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Linn County Sheriff's Office.

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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/pscLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/pscLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. and click on the tab "resources."

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.plLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.. The case file number is CR 25-51.

Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.