More Felony Charges Filed Against Rochester Sex Offender

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Additional felony charges have been added to a criminal complaint filed last month against a Rochester man who was previously convicted of a child pornography crime.

Court documents indicate that 54-year-old Patrick John Gora was sentenced to five years on probation two years ago after he entered a guilty plea to a charge of dissemination of child pornography. The new criminal complaint against Gora says Rochester police opened an investigation after receiving an internet tip in late September regarding suspected child sexual abuse material being uploaded to the group messaging site Discord this past April.

Search Warrant Execution and Evidence Seized

According to the criminal complaint, investigators traced the account associated with the tip to Gora, which led to the execution of a search warrant at his southeast Rochester home. The court document says investigators seized five USB storage devices and his cell phone.

It also states that Gora told investigators that he knew what the search was about and indicated he told his probation officer in April that he threw his phone in a lake after he “relapsed.”

The criminal complaint says the video that was uploaded to Discord depicted a 4- to 6-year-old girl engaging in a sexual act. He was charged with one count of possession of child pornography.

New Allegations Uncovered Through Discord Data

An amended criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court this week says the Discord site turned over additional data to investigators pursuant to a search warrant. It is alleged that the new evidence shows Gora messaged another Discord user—identified as a 13-year-old girl—and convinced her to send him sexually explicit videos of herself. The new charges also indicate that Gora disclosed to the juvenile girl that he had sexually assaulted a young girl beginning when she was 4 years old.

Gora was arraigned today in Olmsted County Court on charges contained in the amended criminal complaint. In addition to the original possession of child pornography charge, Gora now also faces counts of use of a minor in a sexual performance/pornographic work, dissemination of child pornography, solicitation of a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct, engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child, and distributing via electronic communication material that relates to or describes sexual conduct with a child.

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Gora has entered not guilty pleas to all of the charges. His conditional bail is set at $10,000.