(Sioux City)– A Spirit Lake man has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 65-year-old Paul Hicks was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in September of last year to one count of possession of child pornography.
Hicks admitted during sentencing that he groomed multiple children since the 1970’s with gifts, drugs and alcohol to sexually abuse them, and that he preyed on families experiencing turmoil and offered to babysit the children in order gain access to his victims.
The execution of a search warrant on Hicks’ residence on September 8th, 2016 resulted in law enforcement seizing a laptop computer. 146 images of child porn were found on it during a forensic examination. Officials say atleast one of those depicted a child under 12 years of age.
Once released from prison, Hicks will be required to serve a term of five years of supervised release.
