Trump has begun another trade war. Here's a timeline of how we got here
Canada's leader laments lost friendship with US in town that sheltered stranded Americans after 9/11
Chinese EV giant BYD's fourth-quarter profit leaps 73%
You're an American in another land? Prepare to talk about the why and how of Trump 2.0
Chalk talk: Star power, top teams and No. 5 seeds headline the women's March Madness Sweet 16
Purdue returns to Sweet 16 with 76-62 win over McNeese in March Madness
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) -- A former Ames nurse practitioner and business owner who pleaded guilty to 15 counts of sex trafficking by fraud and coercion will spend the rest of his life in federal prison.
Carl Markley, 45, admitted in November that he lied to dozens of young victims and their families in his scheme to trick them into performing sex acts between 2004 and 2024.
A federal judge on Monday sentenced to Markley to the maximum sentence — life in prison — for each of the 15 counts.
"(Markley) devoted hundreds of hours to preying on, grooming, and sexually abusing his victims and covering up his crimes," prosecutors said in a federal sentencing memorandum. "It's estimated (Markley) targeted at least 200 individuals."
Markley was an Ames business owner who offered to do medical exams for dozens of young men and perform what he called sex research. Many of the young victims worked for him.
The judge this morning said Markley was delusional for thinking he was just doing medical research and said he had a medical fetish.
Many of the victims read emotional impact statements in court. They called Markley a monster and a predator. They also said they suffer from psychological problems, including shame and embarrassment for what he did to them.
Markley was wearing a Polk County Jail uniform in court today.
He said he was sorry but also continued to claim he was doing research, even though there were never any medical records to prove that.
