Mason City man sentenced to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography

(ABC 6 News) – A Mason City man was sentenced last Friday to 240 months (20 years) in federal prison for possession of child pornography.

Brandon Manning, 41, was convicted by a jury of two counts of possession of child pornography at trial in November 2022.

Evidence showed that Manning possessed over 150,000 images and videos of child pornography of children under the age of 12 years old—including infants, on an SD card in a cellphone he attempted to destroy, as well as an internal hard drive that was found in his home, hidden in his bedroom.

Manning was also ordered to pay $118,000 in restitution to the victims. Manning must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Manning was previously convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor in July 2013.

Manning is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons and was investigated by the Mason City Police Department and the State of Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.