Mason City man sentenced to 12 years on child porn charge

SIOUX CITY — It’s 12 years in prison for a Mason City man who pleaded guilty to a federal child pornography charge.

46-year-old Cleon Mitchell Junior pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in April, as Mitchell admitted that from August 2022 to April 2024 that he used chat applications to receive and possess visual depictions of child pornography which involved a prepubescent minor or minor under the age of 12. Snapchat had reported Mitchell’s account to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children who in turn reported the information to law enforcement.

Law enforcement connected the account back to Mitchell and obtained a search warrant for his home and electronics. During the search warrant execution, Mitchell admitted to receiving and possessing child pornography and that it would be located on his phone.

Mitchell faced a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment. US District Court Judge Leonard Strand sentenced MItchell on Thursday to 144 months in prison, or 12 years, and he must serve a five-year term of supervised release. There’s no parole in the federal system.