COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced July 24, 2025, to 180 months in federal prison for receipt of child pornography and possession of a firearm as felon.

According to public court documents, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip that an account, later determined to be associated with David Michael Morse, 55, received and uploaded an image containing child sexual abuse material. During a search of Morse’s Council Bluffs residence, law enforcement seized Morse’s electronics, including a cellular phone, and firearms. A forensic examination of Morse’s phone showed that Morse used the device to receive images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Morse will be required to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Morse was also ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Public Safety – Cyber Crime Bureau; Council Bluffs Police Department; Iowa State Patrol; the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Child Exploitation Task Force; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Task Force.

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.