Rochester Teen Charged With Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A data tip has led to the filing of child pornography charges against a Rochester teen.

The charges are the result of an investigation that started in March, when Rochester police received a cyber tip regarding suspected child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) being uploaded to Discord.

Multiple user names were associated with the tip. They were traced back to the same Rochester-based IP address, according to the court document.

18-Year-Old Rochester Man Facing Two Child Pornography Counts

18-year-old Alexander Thomas Rhiger is charged with two counts of possession of pornographic work depicting minors under the age of 14.

Information gathered as the result of a search warrant sent to Discord indicated Rhiger posted "DM me to trade up for anything looking for all ages hit up if trading nudes or pizza." The court document says pizza is a codeword for images or videos depicting child sexual abuse material and that he posted on six different servers.

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He’s also accused of soliciting sexually explicit photos from other users, sending a sexually explicit photos and sharing the suspected child sexual abuse material that was included in the tip, according to the complaint.

Police Execute Search Warrant

Rochester police executed a search warrant at Rhiger’s home in June.

While speaking with officers he stated he has “been using CSAM for the past year or two. He would view images of CSAM as well as trade images,” the complaint says.

Rhiger said he traded images depicting CSAM 10 times, according to the charges.

Content Found on Devices

Investigators seized four electronic devices during the search warrant execution and found 43 images described in the complaint as “consistent with CSAM.” The court document also notes that the images were different from the ones included in the original data tip.

Two of the videos found during an examination of Rhiger’s devices depicted girls ranging in age from toddlers to adolescents being sexually assaulted by adults, the complaint says.

Rhiger is being charged by summons. He’s scheduled to make his first court appearance in October.

Remarkable Property Now Listed For Nearly $12 Million In Duluth, Minnesota

Set on more than 20 acres above Lake Superior, this Nor-Son-built estate sits right up against the Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, one of the most protected and scenic stretches of land anywhere near Duluth. It was finished in 2015, and at nearly 10,900 square feet, it offers a sense of scale that is hard to find this far north.

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Gallery Credit: Michael Lynch - Sotheby's International Realty (Photos: Spacecrafting)