An eastern Iowa man is facing some 17 years behind bars after his sentencing this week on child pornography charges. Mike Winkel had been charged with distribution and possession of child pornography after an investigation involving the U.S. Postal Service, U.S. State’s Attorney’s Office and federal authorities. The investigation, which began in late 2004, connected Winkel to a computer server that contained child pornography. Local police started the investigation when the department received information from a Pennsylvania state trooper who had traced the server to Clinton while investigating cases in the Pennsylvania area. Winkel, who was 36 when formerly charged in early 2005, pled guilty to the charges in March of this year. The sentence handed down in U.S. Federal Court in the Quad Cities was for 210 months on the possession charge and 120 months on the possession count and the terms would be served concurrently. Federal court officials say that least 85% of the 210 month sentence must be served.
