Hibbing Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Federal Prison For Producing Child Pornography

United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced the sentencing of KEVIN JAMES PETROSKE, 36, to 20 years in prison for producing, attempting to produce and possessing images and videos containing child pornography. PETROSKE was found guilty on August 30, 2017, following a three-day trial, on three counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, five counts of attempted production of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. PETROSKE was sentenced earlier today before Judge Patrick J. Schiltz in United States District Court in Minneapolis, Minn.

As proven at trial, on October 23, 2015, law enforcement received a report of a man peering into residential windows of a home in Hibbing, Minn. Shortly after, law enforcement apprehended and identified the suspect as PETROSKE. Law enforcement investigators determined that PETROSKE had prior convictions in Stearns County for felony stalking and an open investigation in Benton County for possession of child pornography. Upon execution of a search warrant at PETROSKE’S residence, investigators seized a laptop computer containing hundreds of videos and images containing child pornography.

As proven at trial, many of the videos found on PETROSKE’S laptop, which were recorded between October 2011 and September 2015, contained surreptitious recordings of minor females filmed by PETROSKE through the windows of their homes without their knowledge. PETROSKE captured the victims in their bedrooms and bathrooms in various private moments and, in many of the videos, PETROSKE is heard masturbating and making sexual comments.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Hibbing Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manda M. Sertich and Melinda A. Williams prosecuted the case.