Rochester Man Sentenced To 27 Years In Prison For Producing Child Pornography

 United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the sentencing of ADAM LEE REITZ, 30, to 324 months in prison for producing child pornography. REITZ, who pleaded guilty on October 29, 2019, was sentenced earlier today before Judge Nancy E. Brasel in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. REITZ’s co-defendant SHAHLA MARIE THOMPSON, 28, pleaded guilty on July 13, 2020, to one count of receipt of child pornography.

“The sexual abuse of children is among the most abhorrent criminal acts,” said U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald. “When it comes to protecting society’s most vulnerable, we will not relent. As demonstrated in today’s sentence, justice will be served.”

“Those who sexually exploit children do serious lasting harm, and the manufacture and trade of child pornography cruelly perpetuates this damage,” said Michael Paul, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis field office. “The FBI and its partners are committed to finding such predators, locking them up, and ensuring those they've victimized are safe and well-supported.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on May 11, 2018, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) alerted the Rochester Police Department to an online communication between REITZ and THOMPSON appearing to contain a depiction of child pornography. Law enforcement searched the defendants’ electronic accounts and found multiple images depicting a minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male. Based on distinctive tattoos, law enforcement was able to identify REITZ as the adult male in the video.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ 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.

If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit NCMEC’s web site at www.missingkids.com.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Rochester Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie E. Allyn prosecuted the case.

Defendant Information:

ADAM LEE REITZ, 30

Rochester, Minn.

Convicted:

• Production of child pornography, 1 count

Sentenced:

• 324 months in prison
• 25 years of supervised release