Rochester Man Enters Guilty Pleas to Child Pornography Charges
Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man has finalized a plea agreement and is scheduled to be sentenced next month for possession of child pornography.
24-year-old Dalton Berndt entered guilty pleas to two counts of the crime during a court hearing late last week. Under the terms of the plea deal, a third child pornography charge will be dismissed.
Berndt was charged in April after Rochester Police launched an investigation based on cyber tips involving suspected child sexual abuse materials that were linked to an email address and IP address associated with Berndt. Court documents say a resulting search warrant led to the seizure of two laptop computers and a cell phone.
The criminal complaint says 185 videos and images of suspected child sexual abuse materials were found on the electronic devices. The complaint also says Berndt gave a statement to investigators that he had been looking at child pornography for a couple of months and that he deleted everything "after serving on a grand jury for similar offenses."
His sentencing hearing will take place on October 25.
