Blackhoof man faces child porn, sex abuse charges

A rural Carlton County man faces both state and federal child pornography charges after an FBI covert operation revealed “sexually explicit contact” with a minor, including an explicit photograph.

Cord Cameron Schipman, 33, was charged in U.S. District Court Sept. 29 with a single count of production and attempted production of child pornography.

As in the Stephan Hansen case reported in the Oct. 6 issue of the Pine Knot, if Schipman is found guilty, the minimum sentence is 180 months (15 years) in federal prison; the maximum is 360 months (30 years).

Schipman was also charged Oct. 3 in Carlton County Sixth District Court with one count each of first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim (under the age of 14), plus one count of using minors in sexual performance work and one count of disseminating pornographic work of a minor under 14, also a felony. The charges list maximum sentences between 15 and 25 years.

According to the criminal complaint, a special online covert FBI employee was searching chat rooms on Kik Messenger, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation calls a “predator’s paradise.”

They found a post by Schipman under the name Cord218 in a chat room touted as trading images of adult men abusing young girls.

In a series of private messages with the covert agent, Schipman allegedly admitted to grooming his victim, who was known to him, and allegedly sent a sexually explicit photo of the child to the undercover agent. He also allegedly posted several images of the victim to the group chat, including one that showed a vehicle and license plate visible in the background.

“Been grooming for awhile,” he messaged the FBI agent. “Today it happens.”

Investigators traced the address of the car to Schipman’s home in Blackhoof Township; they also traced internet IP addresses associated with the messages and/or photographs to the same address.

The Carlton County Sheriff’s Office learned of the FBI investigation on Sept. 27, the same day search warrants were issued and executed on Schipman, his home and vehicle.

According to the criminal complaint, Schipman allegedly confirmed he was part of the Kik chat group and that he took the photo of a juvenile girl posted there. Schipman allegedly admitted to possessing over 10 images of child sexual abuse, including the photo he took. In a jail interview on Sept. 29, Schipman allegedly told an FBI agent that he molested the victim and made her touch his genitals before taking a nude photograph of the child’s midsection on Sept. 26, the day before the warrant and his initial arrest. He also allegedly admitted telling her not to tell anyone “or they could get in trouble.”

The alleged victim was interviewed by experts and did not disclose any abuse or anyone taking photos or videos of her without clothing.

Schipman was originally arrested Sept. 27 and released to home detention Oct. 3. Two days later, on Oct. 5, he was picked up on a state warrant. As of Oct. 8, he was still in custody in Carlton County jail with bail set at $300,000. His next appearance in state court is set for 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16.