Fargo Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Explicit Material Involving Minors

FARGO- U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 5, 2014, Jared Tyler Allen, 27, Fargo, N.D., pleaded guilty to receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors and possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson is presiding over the case.

Allen came to the attention of law enforcement after an agent with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, discovered a computer geographically located in North Dakota that was sharing child pornography in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

Homeland Security Investigators eventually traced the computer to Allen’s apartment located in South Fargo where task force officers seized two computers, including the computer that was previously seen with child pornography on the P2P network. A subsequent forensic examination of the two computers revealed more than 3,400 images and 175 videos depicting child pornography. Receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors carries a minimum-mandatory sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Possession of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and the Fargo Police Department.

Judge Erickson set sentencing for May 12, 2014, at 2:15 p.m. in U.S. District Court in Fargo, N.D.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl is prosecuting the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, 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.