Judge sentences LaVera 63 months on federal charges

David LaVera, 33, received 63 months in federal prison at a federal court hearing at the U.S. District Courthouse in Des Moines this morning.

The sentence will be served consecutively with his five-year state prison sentence. His charges from an incident in which LaVera used his smartphone to video a 12-year-old victim taking a shower and a 13-year-old victim using the bathroom at a Newton home, according to court documents released in August 2014.

LaVera later uploaded that video onto his laptop computer for viewing.

Friday's hearing was scheduled after his original sentencing ended with a judge rejecting his plea deal.

Federal Judge John Alfred Jarvey said during a June sentencing hearing that he didn’t feel LaVera was going to get any punishment with the deal that was in place. The federal sentencing could require LaVera serve more than five years in prison.

LaVera pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of child pornography with additional charges of sexual exploitation of a child and production of child pornography being dropped as part of a plea deal.

District Court Judge Terry Rickers sentenced LaVera to 10 years in prison on a state charge of third-degree sexual abuse in June. Rickers dismissed the additional charges of enticement of a minor, attempting to entice a minor and carrying weapons as a part of a plea deal.

Rickers said he would recommend a concurrent sentence with the federal sentence but did not guarantee it would happen with federal sentencing still pending.

LaVera was charged locally in June 2014 after allegedly using his celebrity status impersonating a “Twilight” actor to entice a then 14-year-old girl to a park in Baxter after having sexually explicit conversations with the teen on Facebook. While at the park, LaVera is accused of touching the teen inappropriately and then luring her into his vehicle. According to court documents he drove her around Baxter until concerned family and friends, who had reported a kidnapping, were able to stop the vehicle and get the girl out of the car.

Read Monday's Newton Daily News for more details.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com