A 67-year-old Spring Grove man is facing eight criminal charges in Iowa, including four felonies, after police say he spent several days messaging and sending sexually explicit images to someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
Timothy Joseph Blanski was arrested July 14 in Newton, Iowa, following an online predator investigation by the Newton Police Department. Court records filed in Jasper County show Blanski faces two felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one felony count of enticing a minor for a sexual purpose, one felony grooming count, and four aggravated misdemeanor counts of disseminating obscene material to a minor.
The investigation began October 4, 2025, when a Newton officer began posing online as a teenage boy. According to the criminal complaints, Blanski started messaging the account that same day and, within hours, sent the first of several sexually explicit images. Investigators say he continued the conversation over the following three days, sending at least four separate explicit images between October 4 and 5, each now the basis for a separate dissemination charge.
The complaints describe Blanski growing more direct as the conversation continued, allegedly asking the person he believed was a minor to send back nude photos of himself. Those requests form the basis for the two felony sexual exploitation counts.
By October 6, investigators say the conversation had moved further, with Blanski discussing the possibility of meeting the boy in person. Those allegations led to the enticement and grooming charges, both class D felonies.
Jasper County Sheriff’s Office booking records show Blanski was held on a combined bond of $68,000, with $25,000 set on each sexual exploitation count, $5,000 each on the grooming and enticing counts, and $2,000 on each of the four dissemination counts. He posted bond and was released the same day, just over three hours after being booked. No court date has been set.
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