Hawkeye Reporter

A Tiffin, Iowa man has been sentenced to 37 years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to sexually exploit a child. Benjamin Paul Egli, age 30, pleaded guilty on December 17, 2024, to charges of conspiracy to sexually exploit a child and possession of child pornography.

According to evidence presented at sentencing, Egli participated in multiple Snapchat and video calls with his paramour in another state during 2023. While located in North Liberty, Iowa for some of the calls, Egli recorded the sessions and directed his paramour to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her toddler child. The woman also sent him photographs and videos depicting herself and her toddler engaged in such acts. Investigators found that Egli possessed hundreds of images of child pornography involving children performing sexual acts on animals as well as images depicting sadistic and masochistic conduct.

United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams handed down the sentence in Cedar Rapids. Egli received a total sentence of 444 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution. He will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term. There is no parole available under the federal system.

"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," according to information provided by authorities. "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." Additional details about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.

Egli remains held by U.S. Marshals pending transfer to federal prison.

The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake. The investigation involved cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Tipton Police Department, and Joint Forensic Analysis Cyber Team.