BISMARCK, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – A Williston man, Nicholas Nesdahl, 29, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison on nine counts of producing or attempting to produce images and videos of child sexual exploitation. The charges, stemming from incidents in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, resulted in 30 years for North Dakota offenses and 20 years for Pennsylvania offenses, to be served consecutively, with lifetime supervised release.
Prosecutors revealed that Nesdahl used social networking platforms to groom children into creating explicit images and videos. The scheme was uncovered when a parent in Pennsylvania reported the exploitation of their two children, leading to a search of Nesdahl’s home in Williston. Investigators discovered evidence of at least seven additional victims from North Dakota, Minnesota, Maryland, Texas, and New Jersey, ranging in age from six to 15 years old.
“This 50-year sentence is fitting given the defendant’s abhorrent and virtually unspeakable treatment of children,” said North Dakota’s U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider.
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat online child exploitation, and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.