A Gates man was sentenced to 1,027 months in prison Monday, Aug. 8, in connection with an online child exploitation investigation reported in April 2020 to the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Linn County Sheriff Michelle Duncan, an investigation revealed that 39-year-old John DiMolfetto created dozens of personas and used numerous social media and texting accounts to manipulate, deceive and exploit children as young as 7 years old over a decade.
Investigators believe DiMolfetto either exploited or attempted to exploit more than 300 children across the United States in the six months prior to his arrest. He knew some of the victims and met others on the Internet.
DiMolfetto was arrested May 13, 2020, after Linn County Sheriff’s Office detectives served a search warrant at his residence.
He was found guilty of 23 counts involving the online sexual exploitation of children on August 3, 2022, following a bench trial.
Some of the charges incurred sentences that will be served concurrently (at the same time). However, ultimately DiMolfetto will spend 35 years and 10 months in prison with no time reduction.
DiMolfetto has been lodged at the Linn County Jail since the date of his arrest.