COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, Thursday (today), said a man from Emerson man was sentenced on March 10, 2026, to 218 months in federal prison for receiving child pornography.

According to public court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip that a social media account, later determined to be associated with Andrew Joseph Branigan, 37, uploaded files containing child sexual abuse material. In October 2024, law enforcement seized Branigan’s cell phone during a search of his Emerson residence. A forensic examination of the seized cell phone showed that Branigan used the device to receive and possess approximately 600 images and 50 videos containing child sexual abuse material. Branigan admitted he sent and received child sexual abuse material with other users on social media applications.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Branigan will be required to serve a 15-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Branigan was also ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Iowa Department of Public Safety-Division of Criminal Investigation-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force, and the Mills County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.