Skip to main content
September 23, 2013Bismarck, ND, United StatesChild Exploitation

North Dakota woman sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography

BISMARCK – A north central North Dakota woman was sentenced in federal court Monday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in cooperation with the following agencies: the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), North Dakota Parole & Probation, the Bismarck (N.D.) Police Department, and the Burleigh County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Michelle Laducer, 38, of Rolla, N.D., pleaded guilty June 17 to two counts of sexually exploiting a minor.

Laducer was sentenced to the maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $1,223, and pay a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund; and she must register as a sex offender.

Laducer produced numerous images of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct using a cell phone. Laducer also transported a juvenile within North Dakota so that another adult could also take sexually explicit pictures of the juvenile. These crimes occurred between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2012.

The investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-843-5678.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.

Updated: