Pierz Man Indicted for Producing Child Pornography

A federal indictment was recently unsealed, alleging that a 48-year-old man from the northern Minnesota community of Pierz produced a video of an 11-year-old girl engaging in sexually explicit activity. The indictment, which was filed under seal on June 15, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, charges James Daniel Jaschke with one count of production of child pornography in connection to this crime. The indictment was unsealed following Jaschke’s initial appearance in federal court this week.

The indictment alleges that on September 23, 2009, Jaschke induced and coerced the girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct. The images were made with a home security camera and video player.

If convicted, Jaschke faces a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison with a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is also part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a national initiative to combat the growing epidemic of sexually exploiting children, particularly via the Internet. PSC was launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May of 2006. Led by the Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, along with U.S. Attorney’s nationwide, PSC encourages federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships and provides resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who abuse children while identifying and rescuing victims of that crime. In 2008, PSC was credited with 2,289 child pornography indictments being filed in federal court nationwide, a 33-percent increase over 2006. For more information about PSC, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.