Minneapolis Man Pleads Guilty to Using Social Media to Produce Child Pornography

MINNEAPOLIS – A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty to using social media to produce and attempt to produce sexually explicit images and videos of children, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Charles J. Kovats.

According to court documents, between August 2018 and March 2021, Nathan Miller Dobbelmann, 40, used email and various social media apps to contact and solicit sexually explicit images and videos from children. Dobbelmann also sent minors sexually explicit videos of himself as well as sexually graphic text messages, and used online chat rooms and platforms to discuss and trade child pornography files with others.

Dobbelmann pleaded guilty earlier today before Senior U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank to one count of production and attempted production of child pornography. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for a later date.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Hudleston is prosecuting the case.