Thief River Falls Man Pleads Guilty To Child Pornography Charges

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty plea of BENJAMIN JOSEPH ROGGENBUCK, 38, to two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography. ROGGENBUCK, who was indicted on August 10, 2020, entered his plea on September 17, 2020, before Judge Nancy E. Brasel in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota. ROGGENBUCK will be sentenced at a later date.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea, between November 2012 and February 2020, ROGGENBUCK used or attempted to use two prepubescent minor children to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct. ROGGENBUCK also admitted to possessing and distributing pornography depicting prepubescent minors. As part of the plea agreement, ROGGENBUCK also pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges brought by the Pennington County Attorney’s Office.

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. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.justice.gov/psc.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Thief River Falls Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea A. Walcker and Miranda E. Dugi are prosecuting the case.

Defendant Information:

BENJAMIN JOSEPH ROGGENBUCK, 38

Thief River Falls, Minn.

Convicted:

• Production and attempted production of child pornography, 2 counts