2021 Cyber Tip Leads to Child Pornography Charges Against Rochester, MN Man

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man is facing child pornography charges in connection with a cyber tip reported to the BCA over two years ago.

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The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office filed the charges on Tuesday. The case opened in April of 2021 when social networking site MeWe alerted the BCA to an exchange of suspected child sexual abuse material between two related accounts. 

Investigators traced the IP address from the accounts to 52-year-old Patrick John Gora, according to the criminal complaint. Members of the Minnesota BCA and Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office then executed a search warrant at his home in southwest Rochester last February. 

Gora admitted to investigators that he preferred images of teenage girls and said he doesn’t send images of children to others very often, the complaint says. He admitted to receiving images depicting child sexual abuse and told investigators he had a phone hidden in the basement of his home. 

The charges say the phone had two images of suspected child sexual abuse material that Gora had sent to someone else. MeWe also disclosed four images depicting child sexual abuse from Gora’s account, according to the charges. 

Gora is facing felony charges for possessing child pornography and disseminating child pornography. He’s due to make his first court appearance on July 20.