Mapleton, Iowa, Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography

Gregory William Douglas McCormick, age 22, from Mapleton, Iowa, pled guilty on January 6, 2025, to one count of possession of child pornography in federal court in Sioux City.

In a plea agreement, McCormick admitted that knowingly received, distributed, and possessed child pornography. In his initial interview with police, McCormick admitted there would be child pornography on his current cell phone as well as two older cell phones. McCormick not only possessed child pornography, but he also distributed images and videos of child pornography to others on the social media platform Kik. During a forensic search of his cell phones and Kik account, McCormick possessed a total of 120 images and 7 videos of child pornography. The videos and images included infants and toddlers as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. McCormick was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing. McCormick faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment.

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."

The case was investigated by Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Cyber Crime Bureau and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-CR-4047. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.