The trial of a former ISU student who has been charged with 160 counts of child pornography may be postponed for several months as the case moves from state to federal court.

The U.S. Attorney in Des Moines has claimed jurisdiction in the case of Jason Lighthall, who was arrested in early May on 60 felony charges and 100 serious misdemeanors involving sexual exploitation of a minor.

Officials at the Registrar’s office said Lighthall was an ISU student during the 2002 spring semester, but he has not registered for fall classes. Dean of Students Pete Englin declined to comment about whether the university took disciplinary action in Lighthall’s case.

Lighthall’s attorney Paul Scott filed a motion to suppress, which asks the court to exclude evidence that was illegally obtained. Scott said the grounds for obtaining the search warrant for Lighthall’s residence hall room last March that provided most of the computer equipment with the pornographic images were “contained in emotion.”

A judge will hear the motion Monday morning at the Story County Justice Center in Nevada.

Scott said Lighthall pleaded not guilty at the state level and plans to plead not guilty at the federal level. No plea has been entered in federal court.

“This process starts over again at the federal level,” Scott said. “We get a new beginning.”

He said the trial will eventually take place in Des Moines, but no official date has been set.

Al Overbaugh, U.S. attorney in Des Moines, predicts either a trial or a guilty plea within the next four months.

“Eventually, Lighthall will most likely be transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshal, appear in Des Moines and a trial date will be set from one to three months after that,” he said. “If found guilty, it could take two to three months for sentencing.” Overbaugh said Lighthall’s case is a federal issue because the acts, which took place on the Internet, involved interstate commerce. When something crosses state lines, as it does with the Internet, it becomes federal jurisdiction.

“The investigative agency had conversations with the state and it was ruled in the best interest of justice to try the case in federal court,” Overbaugh said.

Sentencing guidelines for federal court require an individual to serve 85 percent of his or her sentence, he said.

“Several ratings from one through 40 are used to establish a sentence range, in connection with the individual’s criminal history and other factors,” Overbaugh said.

He said he could not predict a sentence for Lighthall.

“There are a number of child pornography cases in the Midwest each year,” Overbaugh said. “This is not a rare occurrence.”

Gene Deisinger, program manager for the Department of Public Safety, said DPS received information from outside the university about Lighthall’s actions.

“We located a Web site where there was a message posted offering and soliciting for images exploiting children,” he said. “We believe that message was posted by Lighthall.”

Police officers entered Lighthall’s room in Welch Hall with a search warrant based on the posting in late March.

He said Iowa State has dealt with students facing child exploitation charges in the past, though there have been fewer in the last several years.

Deisinger said appropriate use of the Internet is important in the ISU community, and is encouraging students, faculty and staff to use the Internet responsibly.

“We must remember how easily accessible these inappropriate sites are, and that it is illegal to possess, promote or disseminate child pornography,” he said. “DPS will continue to actively and vigorously investigate these cases.”