Bloomington Man Indicted for Possessing Child Pornography

ST. PAUL—Earlier today in federal court, Sean Michael Kratz, age 20, of Bloomington, was charged by way of indictment with one count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that on June 16, 2010, Kratz possessed numerous visual depictions of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Allegedly, those images had been obtained and shared via the Internet.

If convicted, Kratz faces a potential maximum penalty of 10  years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David P. Steinkamp.

The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to combating the sexual exploitation of children, particularly via the Internet. For more information about these efforts, please visit the Department’s Project Safe Childhood website, at 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.