New Hampton man charged with child sexual exploitation

William Rolen, age 56, of New Hampton, has been charged with attempted enticement of a minor and distribution, receipt, possession and accessing child pornography, in an indictment unsealed March 12 in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.The indictment alleges that, between February and March 2018, Rolen attempted to entice a person who he believed to be under 18 to engage in criminal sexual activity and that between 2015 and 2018, Rolen distributed, received, possessed and accessed child pornography.If convicted, Rolen faces sentences ranging from a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, up to a life sentence, $1.25 million fine, and five years to life on supervised release afterward.— For more on this story, see the March 22 New Hampton Tribune.