Iowa City Man and Honduran National Sentenced to 42 years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation and Possession of Child Pornography

DAVENPORT, Iowa - An Iowa City man and Honduran national was sentenced on March 26, 2026, to 42 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography.

According to public court documents, Martin Edgardo Menjivar, 59, produced and possessed child sexual abuse material of children he had access to. An April 2025 forensic examination of Menjivar's cell phones showed that he used the devices to view and possess images and videos containing child sexual abuse material. Menjivar has a pending charge for Sexual Abuse, Second Degree, in the Iowa District Court for Johnson County.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Menjivar will be required to serve a 10-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa City Police Department and United States Marshals Service investigated the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.