Convicted Sex Offender Indicted for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

MINNEAPOLIS - Nicholas Lugo of Chaska, Minnesota, has been charged with distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick.

According to court documents, on July 3, 2024, Nicholas Richard Lugo, 25, distributed multiple CSAM videos over the internet. Lugo has a 2021 conviction in Hennepin County for first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor.

"Lugo is a child predator. He was convicted of sexually abusing a child. And then-like so many sexual predators-went on to offend again," said Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick. "Minnesotans should have no tolerance for serial child sex offenders in our midst. The U.S. Attorney's Office certainly doesn't. Defendants like Lugo who repeatedly prey on children should expect to see federal charges and do federal prison time."

Lugo is charged with one count of distribution child pornography. At his arraignment hearing, Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster ordered that he remain in custody pending further court proceedings.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Chaska Police Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the FBI. It 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan B. Gilead is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.