Tips to law enforcement reportedly led to felony child pornography charges being filed against a Mapleton man.
Fifty three year old Luke Andrew Benson was charged with 11 felonies Thursday in Blue Earth County District Court for alleged possession of child pornography involving minors younger than 14, according to a criminal complaint.
An investigation into Benson began in November after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received tips and referred them to the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office. The tips were related to “hundreds of uploaded images” on an account flagged by a business as containing “child sex abuse material.”
A detective reportedly linked the account to Benson.
The investigation continued into May and June, when the center reported it received 10 more tips about images allegedly uploaded by Benson. The complaint states the images were uploaded between May 30th and June 16th.
Law enforcement obtained and used a search warrant on Benson’s residence on August 2nd. The detective reportedly observed images on Benson’s laptop containing “child sex abuse material.”
The investigation remains ongoing, according to the complaint. Benson’s initial appearance in court is set for August 17th.