SE Minnesota Man With Prior Child Porn Convictions Pleads Guilty

Preston, MN (KROC-AM News) - A southeastern Minnesota man with a history of child pornography convictions today entered into a plea agreement in a Fillmore County case involving dozens of child pornography charges.

Cyber tips led to child pornography investigation

Court records indicate that 30-year-old Ethan Charles Olson of Canton was charged with 32 counts of possession of child pornography in March of last year. According to the criminal complaint, the former Eyota man became the target of an investigation in August 2024 when the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension became aware of multiple cyber tips involving several different online platforms linked to the same user residing in Olmsted County.

Defendant linked to accounts on multiple social media platforms

The court document says investigators were able to link Olson to two email accounts and social media profiles on Kik, Google, Snapchat, and Dropbox that were allegedly used for the possession and dissemination of child sexual abuse material. The charges state that IP addresses associated with Olson were linked to residential addresses in Olmsted and Fillmore counties, with the address in Olmsted County traced to Olson's mother.

Hundreds of child sexual abuse images and videos

The criminal complaint states that the cyber tips received by the BCA involved more than 380 files, and more than 260 were verified as unique child sexual abuse material files associated with children ranging in age from approximately one year old to 12 years old.

According to the charges, investigators obtained a search warrant for the contents of a number of electronic devices and located numerous files of child sexual abuse material. The criminal complaint lists details concerning 16 video files allegedly depicting child sexual abuse.

Guilty plea and previous convictions

Olson today entered guilty pleas to four counts of possession of child pornography in exchange for the dismissal of the 28 other charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.

Olson's criminal record includes two previous convictions for possession of child pornography in Olmsted County. He was sentenced to probation for the first conviction in 2017 and received a seven-year prison sentence for the second conviction in 2019.