Minnesota repeat sex offender sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

MINNEAPOLIS — A 72-year-old central Minnesota man was sentenced on Friday to more than 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography while he was free on bond awaiting his appeal on a similar offense in 2013.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Frank Russell McCoy, of Otsego, Minnesota, was found guilty of possessing child pornography after a two-day trial that ended Dec. 8, 2015. U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz sentenced McCoy March 25 to 121 months in federal prison, and also ordered him to serve 10 years supervised release following his prison sentence.

According to the evidence presented at sentencing, for years McCoy has written and distributed short stories describing extreme sexual abuse and other acts of violence perpetrated against very young children. In 2013, he was convicted in the Middle District of Georgia of one count of transporting obscene material after sending one such story via the Internet to an undercover HSI special agent.

In December 2013, while out on bond pending appeal of that conviction, McCoy amassed a large number of computers and related equipment at his home in Minnesota. A subsequent search, made at the request of his U.S. Probation Officer, revealed the computers contained dozens of videos of child exploitation. Evidence at trial further demonstrated that McCoy had installed forensic-wiping software on his computers in order to destroy any evidence of child exploitation images. However, he had transferred the majority of those files onto a portable video player device just before the seizure.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

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-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.