Grand Forks Man Faces 11 Child Abuse Material Charges

Grand Forks Man Faces 11 Child Abuse Material Charges

Grand Forks (trfnews.i234.me) — A local man faces 11 felony charges in Grand Forks County District Court.

Investigators allege his phone contained more than 100 images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

Keaton Jermaine Hendricks, 20, was charged on July 8, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The charges include five counts involving 20 or more images. Five other counts involve children under 12 or prepubescent minors.

He also faces one count of promoting or directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor.

Cyber Tips Started Investigation

The investigation began in February 2025, the affidavit states.

Snapchat reported three files to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTipline.

The case was then sent to the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Five more cyber tips later came from Discord, Instagram, and Google, according to the affidavit.

Investigators linked a phone number to Hendricks through records obtained from AT&T.

Phone Search Found More Than 100 Files

Authorities executed a search warrant at Hendricks’ Grand Forks home on July 8.

A preview of his Samsung Galaxy S24 showed at least 100 suspected images or videos, the affidavit states.

At least five files appeared to involve prepubescent children or children younger than 12.

Investigators said Hendricks admitted buying the material online and saving it to his phone.

He allegedly acknowledged that some files showed children under 12, including infants.

The affidavit also says Hendricks admitted to seeking nude images and videos from a girl on Snapchat.

He told investigators he believed the girl was 14 at the time.

Case Moves Through District Court

The Grand Forks County State’s Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

Case information is available through the North Dakota Court System.

The charges are allegations. Hendricks is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

I’m Adrian Cole, reporting for TRF News.

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