(KNOX) – A Crookston man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of trying to produce child sex abuse material.
Joseph Robert Thompson pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Nancy E. Brasel on June 29, and a sentencing hearing has not been scheduled yet.
On October 13, 2024, Thompson photographed sexual conduct involving a then-6-year-old child. Thompson had previously been flagged by law enforcement for soliciting images from an undercover officer appearing to be a 14-year-old in August 2024.
Thompson was arrested on Oct. 15, 2024. Investigators found multiple electronic devices in his home that containing child sexual abuse material. It also included contact Thompson had with an adult male in Missouri. Court documents say the two exchanged child sexual abuse material and talked about abusing minors. Thompson confessed to investigators that he distributed and received illegal material between August and October 2024.
The federal offense comes with a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. It also includes a term of supervised release of at least five years and it could be up to life.
FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!
