A Pine City man was sentenced Monday to 350 months in prison for producing and distributing child pornography and coercing minors to engage in illegal sexual activity.
According to U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, 26-year-old Caleb McLaughlin used multiple social media accounts to solicit and direct more than 200 minors to produce and send sexually explicit images.
Those efforts began in or around January 2019.
26 of those minors have been identified as being between 11 and 16 years old and living in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
According to court documents, McLaughlin offered minors drugs, alcohol, vape pens, cash, and gift cards in exchange for sex acts.
On Oct. 11, McLaughlin pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
McLaughin’s prison sentence is followed by 12 years of supervised release.
The case is the result of an FBI investigation, with assistance from the St. Paul Police Department, Pine County Sheriff's Office, and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
