Charges: Rochester Man Had Sexually Explicit Videos of Children, Hundreds of Child Porn Images on Laptop

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester man is facing three felony charges in connection to a child pornography case. 

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That’s according to a criminal complaint filed in Olmsted County Court on Wednesday morning. 

Rochester police began investigating the case in June and executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home in July. 

Investigation into Child Porn on File-Sharing Platform Leads to Felony Charges Against Rochester Man

38-year-old Robert Jon Shatto is charged with three counts of possession of pornographic work depicting a minor under the age of 14. 

The charges say Rochester police were investigating child sexual abuse material being shared on the Gnutella Peer to Peer File Sharing Network. 

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The investigator found 140 files connected to an IP address associated with Shatto. Nearly all had names that included references to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), according to the complaint. 

Evidence Found on Laptop

Investigators seized a laptop after executing the search warrant and discovered “approximately 293 suspected images of suspected CSAM,” the court document states.

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There were also two sexually explicit videos of children found on the laptop. One involved a girl estimated to be 7-9 years old and the other involved a 6-8 year-old girl, the complaint says. 

In a statement to investigators Shatto admitted to having an “extensive amount of pornography on his devices,” the charges state. 

He denied being in possession of child pornography but said he may have come across some while browsing pornography, according to the complaint. 

Shatto is due to make his first court appearance Wednesday morning.