Wisconsin Man Sentenced for Possessing Child Pornography

FARGO - U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 24, 2014, Robert Carey Evans, 58, of Waukesha, Wis., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to 10 years in prison on 14 counts of possession of materials containing child pornography. Judge Erickson ordered Evans to pay a $1400 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund and register as a sex offender for life. Evans was found guilty by a 12 person jury on Oct. 25, 2013.

This case came to the attention of law enforcement after a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations special agent assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered two computers geographically located in North Dakota that were sharing child pornography in a peer-to-peer network. A search warrant was issued for Evan’s Fargo apartment where task force officers seized more than 13 hard drives and 43 DVDs containing child pornography. A subsequent forensic examination of this media revealed more than 22,000 images and nearly 1400 videos of child pornography.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl prosecuted 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.