A southeast Iowa man was arrested after authorities allegedly found hundreds of illicit images featuring underaged children on his devices.
38-year-old Patrick Cooper of Keosauqua was charged with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor (aggravated misdemeanor).
Cooper’s arrest comes after a six-year investigation. On October 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a report from Microsoft of a user uploading images of child sexual abuse material. Investigators tracked an IP address back to Cooper.
On May 2020, court records say officials from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Cooper’s residence and seized several electronic devices, including cell phones and a laptop. Law enforcement reportedly found over 550 videos or images with explicit content on the devices. Court documents say the ages of the children depicted are from toddler to 15-years-old.
Cooper was arrested on Friday and transported to the Van Buren County Jail. He was later freed after posting a $2,000 bond.
Cooper has a preliminary hearing scheduled for August 11th.
*Editors note: The original story was edited to include the law enforcement agencies that executed the search warrant.
