Eagan Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

A 35-year-old Eagan man pleaded guilty earlier today in federal court in St. Paul to possessing child pornography. Appearing before United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle, Yem Nguyen pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Nguyen was indicted on March 11, 2010.

In his plea agreement, Nguyen admitted that on July 3, 2007, he possessed computer images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. For his crime, Nguyen faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Judge Kyle will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Eagan Police Department and the Joint FBI-Secret Service Minnesota CyberCrimes Task Force, which is comprised of the FBI, the United States Secret Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Paul Police Department, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika R. Mozangue.

This 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. Attorneys 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.