Rochester Man Cuts Plea Deal in Child Porn Case

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - Three Rochester men charged with child pornography offenses on the same day earlier this year were in court today and one of them entered a guilty plea.

26-year-old Rithvik Hari admitted to a charge of possessing pornographic work depicting a minor under the age of 14. Under the terms of his plea deal, Hari will be given a stayed prison sentence and no additional jail time for the conviction. According to the criminal complaint, Rochester Police were contacted by a Minneapolis Police investigator concerning downloads on a peer-to-peer network involving dozens of files depicting adults sexually abusing children between the ages of eight and 14 years old. The downloads, which occur between October 3, 2021, and December 9, 2022, were associated with an IP address linked to Hari. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

The two other men entered not-guilty pleas today. 58-year-oldCrime, possession of child pornography, three Rochester men, Rithviik Hari, guilty plea, plea agreement, no jail time, Morgan Young, Scott Collette is also charged with possession of child pornography. According to court records, five suspicious files are downloaded from a peer-to-peer network to an IP address traced to a residence in Rochester associated with Collette. The files contained videos of boys as young as eight years old engaged in sexual activity.

The third man, 60-year-old Morgan Young, was charged with possession of child pornography after a search of a computer in his home led to the discovery of, what court records described as, "a plethora of image/video files containing child sexual abuse material." According to Rochester Police Investigators, the children depicted in the materials ranged from infancy to around eight years old. The search warrant was obtained after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided Rochester Police with information about suspected child sexual abuse materials uploaded from a residence in Rochester last December.

All three men remain free without bail but with conditions.