Newton man sentenced to 30 years in prison for child exploitation

Francis Donald Heim Jr. knew that what he was doing was wrong. He knew that the sexually explicit messages intended for a 14-year-old girl were, at least, very inappropriate and, at most, illegal and a violation of his sex offender registry. For those reasons, the judge this past week sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

After pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor (Class B felony), sex offender registration violation (Class D felony) and telephone dissemination of obscene material to a minor (aggravated misdemeanor), the 58-year-old Newton man was looking at a maximum of 32 years in prison.

District Court Judge Terry Rickers decided the aggravated misdemeanor charge would run concurrently with Heim’s other offenses, which reduced the maximum sentence by two years. However, Rickers also sided with the prosecution to have the felony punishments — 25 years and five years — run consecutively.

Rickers believed probation would not adequately protect the public. Factoring in to the court’s decision was Heim’s prior offenses, which are also of a predatory nature and include a past conviction in which he exposed himself to a 15-year-old girl; he was also convicted of indecent contact with a child in the mid-1980s.

In June 2024, Newton News reported that Heim had illegally solicited photos from a police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl. The two had been exchanging messages over Facebook Messenger for some time. Nicholas Pietrack, assistant county attorney, introduced the messages as an exhibit during sentencing.

Two days in to their correspondence, Heim asked the subject for her age, which was reinforced further when the undercover officer talked about being in a foster home, going to school and getting detention. Posing as a teen, the officer gave Heim an out by saying they didn’t have to talk further if the age bothered him.

Still, Heim persisted and said continued to make sexual remarks and began grooming the subject by sending images of carton sex acts with increasing inappropriateness. When told she had skipped school, Heim suggested she needed a spanking and would spank her if they were legal age.

The messages moved on to Heim encouraging sexting and acknowledging his actions as criminal behavior, further showing he knew full well what he was doing was illegal. Pietrack concluded Heim was a predator and that the non-existent 14-year-old was his prey, but the real victim in this case was society.

Pietrack also noted that during Heim’s stay in Jasper County Jail he has been uncooperative and sometimes combative with the other inmates.

Andrew Tullar, the attorney representing Heim, recommended his client receive further mental health testing and that Heim was also a victim of a sexual predator at a young age. Tullar also argued Heim had little criminal activity up until these new charges arose and could be supervised in the community with treatment.

In a closing statement to the court, Heim tearfully confessed his wrongdoings.

“I am truly sorry for all I’ve done in this matter,” Heim said. “…Please don’t let this mistake define my character.”

The judge told Heim one of the most disturbing parts of the 170 pages of messages was when he gave the undercover police officer directions to Newton. Combined with Heim’s past criminal activity and the predatory communications shared with the court, Rickers felt it best to protect the public from future offenses.

Pietrack said the Jasper County Attorney’s Office “is grateful for the hard work and dedication of law enforcement in this case,” specifically the Newton Police Department and the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office.

“This case is a strong example of a thorough and effective police investigation, and the community should recognize and appreciate their efforts,” he said. “This case reflects both the serious potential for harm that online communications can pose to minors and the need to hold offenders accountable for their actions.”