A Cherokee man has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.
Sixty-two-year-old Roger Strickland was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City after pleading guilty in April to two counts of possession.
Federal court documents show Strickland received and stored child pornography between June 2022 and May 2023. Investigators searched his home in May of last year, where Strickland admitted to downloading the material. Despite being under investigation, authorities say he continued to access child pornography between August 2023 and February 2024.
A forensic review of his electronic devices uncovered more than 225 videos and 8,000 images, including material involving prepubescent children, infants, and toddlers, as well as content described by prosecutors as sadistic in nature.
Strickland was sentenced to 63 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution to victims. He remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transfer to a federal facility.
The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Cherokee Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kraig Hamit. It was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child exploitation.
