Carver Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court, a 49-year-old Carver man pleaded guilty to producing images of child pornography. Randy Davies Anderson specifically pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography. Anderson, who was indicted on November 8, 2011, entered his plea before United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen. Anderson did not enter a plea agreement.

Anderson admitted that in January of 2011, he induced and coerced a minor female child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. In addition, Anderson admitted storing those digital images on his computer and transmitting a copy of the images over the Internet.

According to a Carver County criminal complaint, authorities learned about Anderson in July of 2011, while conducting a child pornography investigation involving another individual.

Agents found two pornographic images on that individual’s computer that were sent from Anderson. On September 6, 2011, agents executed a search warrant at Anderson’s residence, where they seized computers and other related items. Those items were later found to contain images of child pornography.

For his crime, Anderson faces a potential maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years. Judge Ericksen will determine his sentence at a future hearing. Anderson remains in custody.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Carver County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Cyber Crimes Task Force, which is sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David P. Steinkamp.

Presently, the Justice Department is funding a study concerning the correlation between involvement in child pornography and the hands-on sexual abuse of children. A 2008 study (The Butner Study) published in the Journal of Family Violence found that up to 80 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for possession, receipt, or distribution of child pornography also admitted to hands-on sexual abuse of children, ranging from touching to rape.

The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to combating the sexual exploitation of children, particularly via the Internet. In Fiscal Year 2010, 2,235 defendants pleaded guilty to federal child pornography charges, 2,222 of whom were sentenced to prison. In Fiscal Year 2009, 2,083 defendants were sentenced to prison on child pornography charges. For more information about these efforts, please visit the Department’s Project Safe Childhood website, at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.