Chanhassen man charged with possession of child pornography
A 38-year-old Chanhassen man was indicted Dec. 18 by a federal
grand jury in Minneapolis on child pornography charges. The indictment,
which was unsealed Dec. 21, charges Douglas Joseph Basch with
one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession
of child pornography.
Basch’s
indictment alleges that on Nov. 9, 2006, he knowingly received
visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct
that had been transported by computer. The indictment also
alleges that on Dec. 14, 2006, Basch knowingly possessed one
or more matters which contained visual depictions of a minor
engaging in sexually explicit conduct on his computer.
If convicted, Basch faces a potential maximum penalty of 20
years in prison on the receipt charge and 10 years on the possession
charge. All sentences are determined by a federal district court
judge.
This
case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office
and the Minnesota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force,
and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle
E. Jones.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a national
initiative that encourages the use of multi-jurisdictional task
forces to investigate and prosecute cases that involve the sexual
exploitation of children over the Internet. PSC urges that law
enforcement efforts be complemented by community-wide campaigns
to assist victims of exploitation and to educate parents, other
adults, and children about Internet safety.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in 33 children
receives an unwanted sexual solicitation online each year. One
in four children experiences unwanted exposure to sexually explicit
material on the Internet each year. And, more than 20,000 images
of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week. Moreover,
recent research conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons indicates
a strong correlation between possessing or distributing child
pornography and committing sexual-contact crimes against children.
The
MICAC Task Force was created in 2000 through a grant from the
Justice Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children
program. The MICAC Task Force is one of almost 50 federally funded
task forces in the country dedicated to this issue. The number
of law enforcement agencies participating in the MICAC Task Force
reflects the strong commitment Minnesota has made to its children
and their safety.
Members
of the MICAC Task Force include the sheriff’s
office in the counties of Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Cass, Clearwater,
Crow Wing, Dakota, Murray, Polk, Rice, and Washington; the police
department in the cities of Minneapolis, Baxter, Burnsville,
Fergus Falls, Hutchinson, Mankato, Moorhead, White Bear Lake,
and Woodbury; the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation;
and the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation.
An indictment is a determination by a grand jury
that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been
committed by the defendant. The defendant, of course, is presumed
innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at
trial.