Menahga Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing More Than 300 Images of Child Pornography

Earlier today in federal court in Minneapolis, a 45-year-old man from the central Minnesota community of Menahga pleaded guilty to possessing more than 300 images of child pornography. Appearing before United States District Court Judge John R. Tunheim, Brent Michael Freeman pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. Freeman was indicted on March 18, 2010.

In his plea agreement, Freeman admitted that on July 9, 2007, he knowingly possessed visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, those images having been transported via a computer.

For his crime, Freeman faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. Judge Tunheim will determine his sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erika R. Mozangue.

The U.S. Department of Justice is committed to combating the sexual exploitation of children, particularly via the Internet. For more information about these efforts, please visit the Department’s Project Safe Childhood website, at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.