Thief River Falls man charged with production, distribution of child pornography

A Thief River Falls man has been indicted on charges of production, attempted production, distribution and possession of child pornography.

According to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, 38-year-old Benjamin Joseph Roggenbuck was made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Monday.

According to the allegations in the indictment, Roggenbuck, between at least Feb. 12 and Feb. 20, used or attempted to use two prepubescent children to produce visual depictions of sexually explicit conduct.

The indictment alleges that Roggenbuck also knowingly distributed pornography depicting a prepubescent child and knowingly possessed other child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood which is a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative was started in May of 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Roggenbuck was ordered to stay in custody pending further proceedings.