Bismarck Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

BISMARCK – U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 16, 2013, Cory Scherer, 31, Bismarck, N.D., pleaded guilty and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors.

Judge Hovland sentenced Scherer to serve four years and three months in federal prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. Scherer was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

Scherer possessed numerous computer files that contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

This investigation was initiated by the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and was a cooperative effort of Homeland Security Investigations, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Bismarck Police Department, with the assistance of the Burleigh County State’s Attorney’s Office.

This case was brought as a 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 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme prosecuted the case.