Minnesota man pleads guilty to distributing child pornography

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday to distributing child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Robert Joseph Olson, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of transporting child pornography. Olson, who was indicted on Feb. 15, entered his plea before District Court Judge John R. Tunheim.

In his plea agreement, Olson admitted that on May 17, 2009, he distributed via his computer a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In addition, Olson admitted that he possessed about 1,400 similar images, some of which portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence against children.

Olson faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, with a potential maximum penalty of 20 years. Judge Tunheim will determine his sentence at a future hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.