White Bear Lake Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS – A White Bear Lake man was sentenced to 120 months in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution, and $3,000 to a victim assistance fund for possession of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and court documents, Justin John Mitchell, 28, a registered sex offender, was found in possession of thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse on two different occasions in or around August 2019 and January 2022. Among these were depictions of the sexual abuse of prepubescent minors. Mitchell was on supervision for child pornography possession in Ramsey County at the time of the offenses.

On June 3, 2022, Mitchell pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court by Judge Katherine M. Menendez.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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’s Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hillary A. Taylor.