Lang
3/7/25
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Mt. Vernon man they say uploaded and downloaded child pornography via social media.
18-year-old Drake Westen of the Colonial Estates manufactured housing community was booked into the Johnson County Jail just before 1:45 Thursday afternoon. Investigators say in November of 2020 Westen sent a video depicting a child engaged in a sex act to eight other Instagram users. He allegedly uploaded a similar video to Snapchat in August of 2022. In December of 2023, Westen reportedly downloaded two more such videos from Discord. The location of all three incidents is listed as the Twin View Heights neighborhood between Coralville Lake and Lake Macbride.
Westen is charged with four counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 22 years in prison.