Crime & Safety
Registered Sex Offender From Minneapolis Sentenced To 27 Years In Federal Case
A U.S. attorney said Robert James Levi exploited a 12-year-old for years, even after a Minnesota conviction and probation.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A registered sex offender from Minneapolis has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for producing child sexual abuse material involving a minor he exploited over several years.
Robert James Levi was sentenced to 324 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced.
According to court documents, Levi coerced and manipulated a 12-year-old girl in another state into creating and sending sexually explicit images over the internet during a three-year period beginning in February 2022.
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Authorities said Levi “catfished” the victim by posing as a 16-year-old boy, exchanging more than 112,000 messages and convincing her she was in a relationship with him.
In reality, Levi was an adult man. In February 2024, he was convicted in Stearns County of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and was required to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors said that conviction did not stop the abuse, which continued while the case was pending and after Levi was placed on probation.
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The case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Weir prosecuted the case.
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