Iowa teen given no prison time after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a baby; prosecutor explains why

OTTUMWA, Iowa -- An Iowa teen who pleaded guilty in July to sexually abusing a 1-year-old girl will not serve any prison time.

KTVO reports the abuse happened when Kraigen Grooms, now 19, was 17. Police say he was arrested in 2014 when he posted pictures on a child pornography website of himself having sex with the toddler.  Officials say there was also video evidence of the abuse.

Grooms received a 10-year suspended sentence and five years of supervised release but was given no jail time.

In addition to the sentence, he is required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

According to The Associated Press, a prosecutor in the case  explained why the teen was given no prison time. He said the teen was duped into the act by child pornographers posing online as a teenage girl.

The suspended sentence  stirred outrage on social media and led to an online petition calling for an Iowa judge's removal.

But Wapellow County Attorney Gary Oldenburger says Grooms' sentence was part of a plea agreement based on a bevy of factors, including that the victim's parents asked that he not be sent to prison. Oldenburger says the toddler was not raped or physically harmed. He also says Grooms did not know the abuse was being recorded by pornographers.