Grand Forks Man Sentenced for Transporting Two Juveniles for the Purpose of Engaging in Sexual Activity

FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 5, 2013, Gregory Joseph Frohlich of Grand Forks, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson on a charge of transportation of minors.

Judge Erickson sentenced Frohlich to 14 years’ imprisonment to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Frohlich was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Frohlich was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

Frohlich, 56, pleaded guilty on Oct. 5. 2012, to transporting two mentally disabled girls from Grand Forks, N.D. to Thief River Falls, Minn., for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the juveniles. Investigation by the Grand Forks Police Department revealed that Frohlich engaged in illegal sexual conduct with the girls for almost two years, beginning when the girls were just 13 years of age.

The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Grand Forks Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl prosecuted the case.

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 U.S.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, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.