FARGO, N.D. — The District of North Dakota’s U.S. Attorney announced May 30 that Nicholas Morgan-Derosier, 36, of Grand Forks, was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison, lifetime supervised release, $700 in special assessments, and $39,000 in restitution to 13 victims for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Morgan-Derosier pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and six counts of possession of child pornography on Sept. 29, 2023. The charges stemmed from videos and images Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul and Grand Forks Police and found during a search warrant at Morgan-Derosier’s residence. The search warrant was based on his fraudulent lawn service business activity.
Officers located more than 6,000 images and videos of graphic sexual abuse of prepubescent minors on at least six devices. Morgan-Derosier also possessed nude images of prepubescent family members and explicit chats about raping them. The evidence at sentencing showed Morgan-Derosier raped or sexually assaulted several other individuals when they were minors. Morgan-Derosier’s offenses totaled a sentencing range of 30 to 120 years in prison. The receipt of child pornography count carried a minimum sentence of five years.
“Morgan-Derosier was a significant threat to the community, and his conviction and sentencing highlights the fact that predators like him will face significant penalties for their crimes that leave victims and families traumatized,” said HSI St. Paul Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt. “HSI special agents work tirelessly to combat child predators like Morgan-Derosier. We will continue to fight against the exploitation of children and support victims by providing critical resources and services. Well done to the special agents and law enforcement community partners for bringing him to justice for his reprehensible crimes.”
“The monstrous conduct of this defendant towards children makes this strong sentence an appropriate one,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Mac Schneider. “This defendant preyed on kids online and in real life, and the public is safer now that he is in the long-term custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I commend our office’s First Assistant United States Attorney Jenifer Puhl, our colleagues at Main Justice, and our partners in federal, state and local law enforcement for ensuring this defendant faced justice.”
HSI St. Paul, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Grand Forks Police Department investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.