Des Moines man pleads guilty to charges of possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation « KJAN

DES MOINES, Iowa – A Des Moines businessman has pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography. Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said today (Wednesday) that public court documents indicate that 61-year-old Jeffrey Walter Gray produced and possessed child pornography. Gray used minors to produce child pornography from approximately 2005 to at least approximately 2016. Some of the material was taken at the photography business Gray owned and operated in the Des Moines area, Wicked Imagery.

The material included footage from hidden cameras placed in Wicked Imagery’s locker rooms to capture video and/or images of minors undressing. In November 2023, investigators recovered a hard drive that was later determined to contain child sexual abuse material, including at least 15 minor victims, from Gray’s residence.

Gray is expected to be sentenced on January 8, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years for the sexual exploitation charge. Gray also faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case with assistance from the Des Moines Police Department. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Abuse and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, and to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc. For information about Internet safety education, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the resources tab.