New Ulm man facing 5 counts of child porn possession

A New Ulm man has been charged with five counts of possession of child pornography depicting a minor under 14, according to court documents.

Ricky Eugene Randall, 72, was charged on May 30 in Brown County.

A criminal complaint states that a Brown County investigator received information from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in December 2022 regarding a cyber tip about a Yahoo account that emailed child pornography.

Law enforcement issued subsequent subpoenas for more information on the Yahoo email account, which ultimately provided an address and phone number associated with Randall, according to the complaint.

On Dec. 22, 2022, law enforcement officials went to Randall’s house to serve a search warrant for child pornography, according to court documents. Randall answered the door and spoke with an investigator.

The complaint said that Randall told investigators he has had a problem with pornography for years and had “probably” looked at child pornography before.

Law enforcement collected a phone, laptop and iPad from Randall.

Upon reviewing the electronic devices, law enforcement found several videos and a photo depicting child pornography, including one video of a victim who was 8 years old and was trafficked at the time, according to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children (NCMEC).

The complaint said electronic data confirmed Randall had accessed at least one of the videos as recently as November 2022.

Randall has previous felony convictions from 1971 to 1984 in Nebraska for “child stealing,” escape from custody and felon in possession of a firearm.

Randall is due in court for a hearing on July 18 at 8:30 a.m.