Red Oak Man Sentenced to Prison for Receipt of Child Pornography

 COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – On Friday, February 19, 2021, Mark Fredrick Sandell, age 63, of Red Oak, was sentenced to 180 months in prison and five years of supervised release announced Acting United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal. At the time Sandell committed the present offense, he was on supervised release for a previous conviction of Receipt of Child Pornography. At sentencing, Sandell’s term of supervised release on the prior conviction was revoked and he was ordered to serve 30 months in prison consecutive to the 180-month sentence – for a total sentence of 210 months. Both sentences were imposed by United States District Court Chief Judge John A. Jarvey.

This investigation began when the Nebraska State Patrol conducted peer-to-peer Internet network investigations and discovered that an Internet Protocol address associated with Sandell received child pornography files. On February 27, 2020, a search warrant was obtained and executed at Sandell’s home located in the 1800 Block of Eastern Avenue in Red Oak. Sandell was at his home and admitted to police he was in possession of child pornography. Officers seized numerous electronic devices and a forensic examination identified a total of 483 videos and 125 images of child pornography.

This matter was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security - HSI, Nebraska State Patrol, and the Bellevue, Neb. Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.