2 Cyber Tips Lead to Child Porn Charges Against Rochester Man

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Two cyber tips initiated an investigation that has resulted in the filing of child pornography charges against a Rochester man. 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Tuesday. The charges say Rochester Police received a cyber tip in November 2021 and another tip last July regarding suspected child sexual abuse material being uploaded and sent via the Kik messenger app. 

The tips indicated that a combined 44 videos of suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were being shared and uploaded through the app. Investigators traced the account’s IP address and phone number to a northwest Rochester residence where 26-year-old Ryan Benjamin Thomas lives, the complaint says. 

Investigators served a search warrant at Thomas’s residence last April and seized his phone. A search of the phone led to the discovery of 152 images depicting what the charges describe as “obvious CSAM images and videos.” 

Detectives also found six deleted videos that matched the description of videos described in one of the cyber tips. The complaint says three of the images and videos depicted children ranging in age from 5-10. 

Thomas has been charged with three felony counts of possessing pornographic work depicting minors under the age of 14. He’s scheduled to make his first court appearance in the case in January.

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