Minnesota Man Sentenced to Over 19 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Production of Child Pornography

SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced an Elmore, Minnesota, man convicted of Attempted Production of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on August 8, 2024.

Mason Mensing, age 23, was sentenced to 19 years and five months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Upon his release, Mensing must register as a sex offender.

Mensing was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2022. He pleaded guilty on May 21, 2024.

The conviction stemmed from incidents between August 17, 2022, and August 19, 2022, when Mensing pretended to be a high schooler in Minnesota and attempted to persuade a minor female in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to send him nude images of herself. The minor female refused and told her parents, who then went to the police. After an undercover agent took over the minor's Snapchat account, Mensing had several sexual conversations with the undercover agent. An examination of Mensing's Snapchat account revealed that he had requested nude photos from multiple teenage girls in South Dakota and Minnesota.

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 the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Brookings Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Mensing was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.