Oakes man pleaeds guilty to possession of material involving sexual exploitation of minors

U.S. Acting Attorney Lynn Jordheim announced that on Wednesday, Aaron Potts of Oakes, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Ralph R. Erickson on a charge of possession of material involving

the sexual exploitation of minors.

Potts, 26, pleaded guilty on April 1 to possessing child pornography files on his computer located at his residence in Oakes. Potts came to the attention of law enforcement during an investigation when a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent downloaded video files from Potts’ computer which depicted graphic sexual abuse of prepubescent children. A search warrant was eventually obtained for Potts. A computer containing approximately 96 video files depicting child pornography was seized during the search. BCI agents later interviewed Potts, who admitted to receiving and possessing the child pornographic material.

Erickson sentenced Potts to five years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Potts was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund and was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

The case was investigated by the U. S. Immigration Customs Enforcement -

Homeland Security Investigations and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

This case was brought as a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. states attorneys’ offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl prosecuted the case.

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