August 20, 2014

Selby Man Charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors

United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Selby, South Dakota, man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors.

Christopher R. Jansen, age 34, was indicted on August 13, 2014. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Moreno on August 19, 2014, and pled not guilty to the Indictment.

For Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Count 1, the maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 30 years in custody, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years in custody, and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. For Distribution of Material Involving the Sexual Exploitation of Minors, Count 2, the maximum penalty upon conviction is up to 20 years in custody, with a mandatory minimum of five years in custody, and/or a $250,000 fine, up to life of supervised release, and $100 to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

Count 1 alleges that between June 2011 and December 2013, Jansen used a minor to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct. Count 2 alleges that between December 2013 and July 2014, Jansen knowingly distributed visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The charges are merely accusations and Jansen is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the Mobridge Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Maher and Keith Becker, a Trial Attorney with the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Department of Justice, are prosecuting the case.

Jansen was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending further hearings. A trial date has been sent for October 21, 2014.