Mount Vernon Man Sentenced for Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Mount Vernon, South Dakota, man convicted of Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography was sentenced on February 24, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Richard Charles Tellinghuisen, age 29, was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.

Tellinghuisen was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 9, 2019.  He pled guilty on November 26, 2019.

The conviction stemmed from incidents on or about September 11, 2017, and September 12, 2017, when Tellinghuisen entered a chat room on the internet hosted by KIK where he chatted with an undercover agent.   Tellinghuisen distributed several videos containing child pornography to the undercover agent. 

Tellinghuisen knew the files contained child pornography and he admitted to knowingly distributing files containing child pornography that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means, including by computer.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Tellinghuisen was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.