Baltic Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

US Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Baltic man charged with possessing child pornography was sentenced on February 24, 2011, by Chief US District Judge Karen E. Schreier. Gerald John Boekhoff, age 60, was sentenced to 24 months in custody. It was also ordered that Boekhoff register as a sex offender.

Boekhoff was indicted for Possession of Child Pornography by a federal grand jury on June 3, 2010. The investigation began in February 2010 when investigators discovered Boekhoff sharing files containing child pornography on the internet. Members of the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched Boekhoff’s Baltic residence in May 2010. At that time, they seized two computers for analysis. Forensic examination of the seized evidence revealed the presence of over 100 images of child pornography. Boekhoff admitted that he began viewing and collecting child pornography approximately a year before being caught. He pled guilty to the charge on November 9, 2010.

This case was investigated by the US Department of Homeland Security, Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the SD Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office. Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Boekhoff was immediately turned over to the custody of the US Marshal.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.