Iowa man arrested on sexual exploitation of a minor charge

MAHASKA COUNTY, Iowa – A southern Iowa man is being held in the Mahaska County Jail after a tip from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led to the discovery of thousands of images of child pornography.

The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office said it received the information from an ICAC investigator last week and a search warrant was executed at the residence of Paul Westphal, 60, in Barnes City on Friday, June 28th. Deputies seized multiple electronic devices during the search of Westphal’s apartment in the 300 block of Pine Street.

Westphal has been charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, a class D felony. He was arrested on Saturday.

Westphal denied possessing any child pornography, according to the criminal complaint, and told investigators his Wi-Fi was password protected and his laptop was purchased new and no one else ever used it. The criminal complaint also says an initial examination of one of the USB drives seized from Westphal’s residence showed more than 2,000 images of and 50 videos of child pornography.

Westphal is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 10th.

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