Joel Ray Allard, Child Pornography Production, Minnesota 2013

Two Harbors Man Charged with Child Pornography Production

MINNEAPOLIS—Joel Ray Allard, a 37-year-old Two Harbors man, has been charged with producing images of child pornography. The indictment, filed on August 13, 2013, accuses Allard of one count of production of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that between August and September 2011, Allard enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct. If convicted, Allard faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years.

Any sentence would be determined by a federal district judge. This case is the result of the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota Child Exploitation Task Force, sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David P. Steinkamp.

Production of child pornography is against the law. In addition to prosecuting these cases, the Justice Department is funding a study focused on the correlation between involvement in child pornography and hands-on sexual abuse of children. A 2008 study published in the Journal of Family Violence found that up to 80 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for possession, receipt, or distribution of child pornography also admitted to hands-on sexual abuse of children, ranging from touching to rape.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (“PSC”), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Attorney offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/two-harbors-man-indicted-producing-child-pornography