Man pleads guilty to disseminating child porn

A Cloquet man pleaded guilty to four felony counts of disseminating pornographic work of a minor under the age of 14 on Wednesday in Sixth District Carlton County Court.

James Thomas Tuttle, 31, agreed to the plea deal in exchange for a sentence of 12 years, 9 months in prison and no federal charges. Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola also agreed to drop two other dissemination charges, plus one charge of possession of pornographic work of a minor under 14.

According to the criminal complaint, the Cloquet Police Department was tipped off about possible child sexual exploitation material in December 2022 by the Internet Crimes Against Children division of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The BCA had received the tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which learned of it from an electronic service provider.

In question were six video files which contained sexual material involving prepubescent females under the age of 14, from August 2022. Tuttle was discovered to be using a free messaging app, KIK, to share materials. Using information from a KIK application search warrant, the investigator was able to track the videos to Tuttle using his email and IP address, locating a modem within the Aspen Arms apartment Tuttle shared with his mother. Tuttle told police he was a member of groups in the KIK application where child pornography was shared and stated that he was sharing similar material through direct messages on the free messaging app.

In a virtual hearing Wednesday, Tuttle admitted to downloading and sending four different videos to other people online within a 26-minute period on Aug. 22, 2022. Each of the videos portrayed at least one prepubescent girl — at least two of them elementary-school aged — engaged in different sexual activities. Tuttle admitted it was obvious the girls were under 14.

Although Tuttle was originally charged with only one count each of disseminating and possessing pornographic work of a minor under 14, the criminal complaint was amended in February to include an additional five counts of disseminating pornography of a minor under 14.

The maximum sentence would have been 15 years without the plea deal.

An in-person sentencing hearing is set for July 7.