Golden Valley Man Indicted for Downloading and Distributing Child Pornography

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Golden Valley man has been arrested and charged with receiving and distributing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

According to court documents, in January 2021, John Scott Enderlein, 59, knowingly downloaded and distributed multiple video files depicting graphic child sexual abuse. Prior to these alleged offenses, in December 1995, Enderlein was convicted in Hennepin County of second degree criminal sexual conduct and was required to register as a sex offender.

Enderlein, who was arrested this morning by the FBI, made his initial appearance today in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson. Enderlein is charged with five counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

This case was 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.