North Dakota Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Child Sexual Abuse Material Crimes Following HSI St. Paul Investigation

BISMARCK, N.D. — U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Mac Schneider announced June 25 that Nicholas Anfin Nesdahl, 29, of Williston, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for seven counts of producing or attempting to produce images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of minors charged in the District of North Dakota and 20 years in federal prison for two counts related to producing or attempting to produce and receiving images and videos of minors that were charged out of the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Nesdahl’s befriended minors using various social networking platforms. After a child accepted his friend request, he would begin to groom them to produce images and videos of themselves nude or engaging in sexual activity. The activity was first discovered and reported to law enforcement by a parent of two victims located in Pennsylvania, which then resulted in a search of Nesdahl’s residence in Williston. As a result of that search, it was discovered Nesdahl had victimized at least seven other victims located in North Dakota, Minnesota, Maryland, Texas and New Jersey. The victims’ ages ranged from six to 15 years of age.

“Nesdahl’s conduct online, while reprehensible, is similar to many predators who exploit minors through social networking platforms,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul Special Agent in Charge Jamie Holt. “This is a significant threat to our communities. Parents, guardians and educators should understand that online apps providing messaging, photo or video sharing capabilities could lead their children into a world where they may be at risk. It’s very important that adults have conversations with kids and provide oversight to ensure they aren’t exposed to environments where they could potentially be vulnerable to predators. Well done to our special agents and law enforcement partners for bringing Nesdahl to justice.”

“This 50-year sentence is a fitting one considering this defendant’s abhorrent and virtually unspeakable treatment of children,” Schneider said. “Protecting kids is a fundamental priority, and our state, federal and local law enforcement partners will use cutting edge technology and old-fashioned investigative work to bring child predators offline and into a federal courtroom to face justice.”

This case was investigated by the HSI St. Paul and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.