FARGO - U. S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Feb. 2, 2015, Peter Alan Karl, 52, West Fargo, N.D., was sentenced before U. S. District Judge Ralph R. Erickson to serve six years in prison for the receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors. Judge Erickson also sentenced Karl to a lifetime period of supervised release following his incarceration and ordered him to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victims Fund.
This case came to the attention of Law Enforcement after it was discovered that the defendant was communicating with individuals who had a sexual interest in children via a website hosted outside the United States. Eventually, Law Enforcement obtained search warrants for Karl’s email accounts and residence where investigators found both electronic and hard-copy images of child pornography depicting prepubescent children.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations and West Fargo Police Department.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jennifer Puhl prosecuted the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood in conjunction with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) help Federal, State and Local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems or computer technology to sexually exploit children. The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces engaging in proactive investigations, forensic investigations and criminal prosecutions. Project safe childhood also helps to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
