News and Press Releases

News and Press Releases

Willmar man sentenced for producing child pornography

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2012


MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in St. Paul, a 37-year-old Willmar man was sentenced to 360 months in prison for taking illicit photographs of a child in violation of federal law. Christopher Shawn Robison was indicted on December 20, 2011. On May 3, 2012, he pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography before United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank.

In his plea agreement, Robison admitted that on July 22, 2011, he took several pornographic photographs of a three-year-old girl and himself, using his cell phone. On July 27, 2011, the photos were found by authorities during the execution of search warrant. In total, investigators uncovered eight photos of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition, Robison admitted engaging in sexual conduct with the three-year-old on two occasions prior to July—once in May of 2011 and again in June of 2011.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie E. Allyn.

Production of child pornography is against the law. In addition to prosecuting these cases, the Justice Department is presently funding a study focused on the correlation between involvement in child pornography and 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.

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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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.”

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