Department of Justice
United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt
Southern District of Iowa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2011

Waterloo Man Sentenced for Distributing Child Pornography
   
     On April 29, 2011, Gary Steven Blackburn, age 57, of Waterloo, Iowa, was sentenced by United States District Judge John A. Jarvey to 11 years imprisonment in connection with Blackburn's previous guilty plea to distributing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.  Blackburn also was sentenced to 10 years supervised release following imprisonment and ordered to register as a sex offender.
     Between March and May 2009, Blackburn chatted in a Yahoo internet chat room with an individual he believed to be a 13 year old girl but who actually was an undercover Clinton County, IA, detective.  Blackburn questioned the girl about her parents, asked about when the parents were or were not at home, and asked about secluded areas near the girl's residence where Blackburn and the girl could meet.  Blackburn also "groomed" the girl for sexual contact by asking her to perform sex acts on herself and to perform sex acts with her dog.  Blackburn sent the girl child pornography and suggested that the girl perform with Blackburn the types of acts depicted.
     In late May 2009, Clinton County detectives executed a search warrant at Blackburn's residence, seizing his computer and finding child pornography.
     This case was investigated by the Clinton County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Iowa.