While serving time for child porn, Iowa EMT loses his license to practice

The Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services has revoked the license of an EMT now serving time in federal prison for using his government-provided internet service to access child pornography.

In March, Iowa-licensed EMT Justin Mezera, 34, of Cedar Rapids was sentenced to nine years in prison for receipt of child pornography.

According to authorities, Mezera used a Kik account – a messaging service popular with teenagers – to access child pornography. At the time, he was not only a state-licensed emergency medical provider, he was also an active member of the U.S. Air National Guard. According to federal prosecutors, he accessed child pornography using the internet service of the U.S. Department of Defense while working at DOD facilities.

In court filings, prosecutors alleged Mezera “amassed a collection of child pornography that included more than 15,000 images and more than 800 videos of child pornography. It was a massive collection. The images and videos depicted children as young as infants and included various sex acts.”

In addition to the nine-year prison sentence, Mezera was ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution.

On June 16, 2023, more than 14 months after Mezera was indicted and three months after he was sent to an Illinois prison to serve his sentence, the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical and Trauma Services revoked Mezera’s license to practice in Iowa.

From 2017 to 2020, Mezera worked for the state as a clinical technician and medical assistant at the University of Iowa Hospitals. Court records indicate that in addition to being a licensed EMT provider, Mezera was licensed or certified as a basic life support instructor and as an advanced cardiovascular life support instructor. Since 2013, he had served as an active member of the U.S. Air Force, according to court records.