Princeton Man Pleads Guilty To Distributing Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS — Yesterday in federal court, a 32-year-old Princeton man pleaded guilty to one count of Distribution of Child Pornography. William C. E. Strobel, who was indicted on February 19, 2014, entered his guilty plea before United States District Judge Donovan W. Frank.

In his plea agreement, Strobel admitted that between February 2010 and December 2011 he accessed a peer-to-peer file sharing program and traded images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. The defendant also admitted that he possessed on his computers and other digital media more than 20,000 images and more than 600 videos depicting minors, including children under the age of 12, engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

For his crime, Strobel faces a possible maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison. Judge Frank will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Princeton Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen B. Schommer.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”