A Fargo resident has been sentenced to 32 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Klemetsrud Puhl on April 30, 2025. Dustin Ray Fredrickson, 37, received his sentence from Chief United States District Judge Peter D. Welte in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. In addition to his prison term, Fredrickson will undergo lifetime supervised release and pay $18,000 in restitution to identified victims. Fredrickson had pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024.
His criminal activity came to light following a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force. This tip involved a Snapchat account containing images of nude children, later connected to Fredrickson. A search warrant at Fredrickson’s residence uncovered a Samsung cellphone, which contained 373 videos and 773 images of children in sexually explicit conduct, including infants.
At the time of the offense, Fredrickson had three prior convictions related to sexual contact with minors.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. This initiative pools resources from federal, state, and local authorities to track, arrest, and prosecute offenders and assist victims. More information is available at www.justice.gov/psc.
The investigation involved the Fargo Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Gary Delorme prosecuted the case.
