A Sauk Centre man has copped to chatting up minors for child porn, federal officials say. Shawn Norbert Kulzer, 32, who started messaging a minor on Snapchat at the start of 2023, knew the victim was underage but still pressured for nudes, he admitted in his guilty plea. The revelations came to light yesterday in U.S. District Court, with Judge Nancy E. Brasel presiding, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota.
The disturbing case, stemming from conversations that began on January 2, 2023, involved Kulzer using the photo messaging app to target victims. After learning one of them was younger than 18, he pressured the minor into sending explicit images. "During the course of their conversation, Kulzer learned that the minor victim was under the age of 18, yet still pressured them to send nude photographs". Kulzer also enticed a second victim to send lewd photos, court documents revealed, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota.
Law enforcement is concerned that the predatory behavior may not have ended with just two victims. Given the nature of the evidence obtained, authorities suspect there could be more young individuals harmed by Kulzer's actions. The FBI Minneapolis Division is fielding calls at 763-569-8000 from anyone with information regarding the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Polachek is handling the prosecution of this case which sprung from an investigation led by the FBI, Stearns County Sheriff's Office, and Sauk Centre Police Department. The investigation and subsequent guilty plea are a small segment of a larger initiative known as Project Safe Childhood. The initiative, founded by the Department of Justice in May 2006, marshals resources to crack down on crimes involving child pornography. "Anyone with information about this matter is encouraged to call the FBI Minneapolis Division," as stated in the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota.
