Former Dubuque County Correctional Officer facing Serious Charge

A former Dubuque County correctional officer is facing serious charges related to child exploitation. Benjamin Dalsing has been arrested on 11 counts of possessing or purchasing depictions of minors engaged in sex acts—and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor by promoting a film. According to a criminal complaint, an investigation began after a tip was sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In September of last year, files containing child sex abuse material were reportedly uploaded to the app Kik Messenger. The IP address linked to the uploads was traced back to Dalsing. In March, police executed a search warrant at his home and seized multiple electronic devices. Investigators say they found nude images of a former classmate—allegedly taken when she was a minor—stored on Dalsing’s phone and within the Kik app. Messages also show Dalsing admitted to having the images and indicated he was open to trading them for others, according to the complaint. One of the files sent to Dalsing reportedly depicted an unknown adult inappropriately touching a minor, and several more images and videos involving minors were allegedly extracted from his phone. Dalsing is currently being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond.