Hawkeye Reporter

A 32-year-old man from Arthur, Iowa, pleaded guilty on August 20, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to receiving child pornography.

According to evidence presented at the plea hearing, Wesley Ham received and possessed more than 94 images and 79 videos of child pornography between March 2022 and September 2023. A forensic review of Ham’s computer and phone revealed he had a total of 370 images and three videos of child pornography. Some materials included infants, toddlers, as well as depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct. Ham admitted to receiving and possessing the material but denied distributing it in this case. However, he acknowledged distributing child pornography in a separate state case in Iowa in 2022.

Sentencing will be scheduled before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand after completion of a presentence report. Ham is currently held by the United States Marshal while awaiting sentencing. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and could receive up to twenty years’ imprisonment, along with a $250,000 fine and at least five years of supervised release following any prison term. There is no parole available under the federal system.

The prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to locate offenders and assist victims. Additional information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.usdoj.gov/psc.

"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/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”"