A Cherokee man has been sentenced to over 29 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.
33-year-old James Buckingham previously pleaded guilty in Sioux City Federal Court. In a plea agreement, Buckingham admitted that he sexually abused a minor child under the age of 12. While sexually abusing the child, Buckingham took at least four videos of the abuse.
In addition to the prison term, Buckingham was also ordered to pay over 41-hundred dollars in restitution to the victim, and must serve a seven-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Buckingham is being held in the custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Cherokee Police Department and the FBI. It was brought on 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.
