Cottage Grove Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

A 40-year-old Cottage Grove man was indicted yesterday in federal court on three child pornography charges.

Pang Thao was charged with one count of possession of child pornography and two counts of receipt of child pornography. His indictment alleges that on April 30, 2008, Thao knowingly possessed one or more matters that contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that these matters were transmitted over the Internet.

It also alleges that on March 16, 2008, Thao knowingly received similar depictions via the Internet.

If convicted, Thao faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years on the possession count and 20 years on each receipt count. All sentences are determined by a federal district court judge.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly A. Svendsen.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a national initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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