CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Bryce Hans Plower, 37, from Prairieburg, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for exploiting children through social media and text messages.

Plower pleaded guilty on April 17 to charges of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography. According to court documents, he persuaded multiple children, some as young as 12, to send sexually explicit images and videos between 2014 and 2024. He often paid them as little as $1 for these materials.

United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams sentenced Plower to 480 months in prison and ordered him to pay $6,000 in restitution to the victims. After his release, he will serve a five-year term of supervised release.

Plower is currently in the custody of the United States Marshals, awaiting

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