United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger and Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division today announced the indictment of a Minnesota National Guardsman for inducing a 14 year-old girl to send him nude photos over the Internet while he was deployed to Afghanistan. ANDREW SCHILLER, 28, of Lakeville, Minnesota, is charged with one count of production of child pornography. SCHILLER was ordered detained pending trial today by U.S. Magistrate Judge Becky R. Thorson of the District of Minnesota.
According to the indictment and the government’s request for pretrial detention, between Sept. 23, 2013, and Jan. 12, 2014, SCHILLER contacted a 14 year-old girl from Minnesota via Skype. During repeated communications with the girl, SCHILLER allegedly requested that she send sexually explicit photos of herself to him. The victim allegedly sent several images in response to SCHILLER’s requests, including at least one sexually explicit image.
According to additional allegations in the government’s request for pretrial detention, SCHILLER used various social media platforms to communicate online with dozens of girls between the ages of 13 and 17. Among those platforms were MyLOL (“funinlife"), Skype (“thriller_a_schiller3"), Meet Me (“mnfuntimes") and Facebook. SCHILLER also allegedly used KIK, an instant messaging application for mobile devices that allows users to share photographs and other content. After establishing online contact with the girls, SCHILLER allegedly directed the conversation to sexual topics and attempted to convince the girls to send sexually explicit videos or images of themselves to him. SCHILLER allegedly shared sexually explicit images of himself to encourage the girls to send photographs and videos of themselves, and he sometimes promised money or alcohol in exchange for sexually explicit images or live video chats.
Anyone with additional information about this case can call the FBI Minneapolis Field Office at 763-569-8000. 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 is the result of an investigation conducted by the Army Criminal Investigative Division and the FBI.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Buzicky of the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Jeffrey H. Zeeman of the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
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.
Defendant Information:
ANDREW SCHILLER, 28
Lakeville, Minn.
Charges:
• Production of child pornography, 1 count
The charges contained in the indictment and the allegations contained in the government’s request for pretrial detention are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
