Eagan Man Sentenced To 17 Years For Producing Child Pornography

EAGAN, MN — Christopher Robert Nelson, 45, of Eagan, was sentenced Thursday to 204 months in federal prison, about 17 years, followed by five years of supervised release, for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota announced.

According to court documents, Nelson enticed and coerced an 11-year-old girl in January 2023 to engage in sexually explicit conduct.

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He communicated with her through a messaging application, directed her to send sexually explicit content, and paid her through a peer-to-peer money transfer app.

Nelson was stopped as he returned to the United States from the Philippines in September 2023.

A Customs and Border Protection agent searched his phone after it was flagged for possible involvement in child sex trafficking and found several videos that appeared to be child sexual abuse material.

A forensic examination of the phone turned up approximately 400 images and videos of child sexual abuse material, which were sent to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for victim identification.

The center's report identified 25 known victims across 46 different CSAM series. Investigators also found videos on the phone showing children ages 8 to 12 from Thailand engaging in sexual acts.

Investigators also found messages between Nelson and someone who claimed to be a mother in the Philippines discussing his plans to travel there to have sex with children.

Nelson was sentenced Thursday before U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz. He pleaded guilty on Nov. 12, 2025.

"The defendant is a serial child predator whose heinous actions have created irreparable harm to vulnerable children in the United States and other countries," U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen said in a statement. "My office has an unwavering commitment to protect children and bring justice to the victims and their families."

HSI St. Paul Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard said the sentence stops Nelson from harming children for the length of his prison term, crediting the agency's work with the Angel Watch Center and other law enforcement partners.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement partners and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raphael B. Coburn. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a Justice Department initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.