BEMIDJI -- A Bemidji man who was arrested for posting an ad on Craigslist looking for a young girl to pose for pictures was sentenced last week for possessing child pornography, charges he faced when the online ad was posted.
Jacob William Kinn, 30, will serve 65 days in the Beltrami County Jail after being given credit for 55 days served. But if he violates the terms of his probation, Kinn could serve five years in prison. The punishment, handed down by Beltrami District Judge Paul Benshoof, was an upward departure from sentencing guidelines due to the fact that Kinn's actions affected multiple victims, represented by the seven minors found in pornographic videos found on computers seized by police.
Kinn was the subject of a sting set up by the Bemidji Police Department and the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office in mid-February. A citizen reported a Craigslist ad, posted by Kinn, to police. An investigator began an email exchange with Kinn, pretending to be a mother willing to hand over her daughter for the photo shoot. The photos were for Kinn's "personal collection," according to a criminal complaint filed by the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office.
Six days later, police arrested Kinn at a meeting where he was to meet the child. Kinn either worked with a bail bondsman or paid $15,000 to be released from jail later that week.
Kinn had been the subject of an investigation since March 2012, according to court documents. At issue in Kinn's case was whether or not he was coerced by investigators when they executed a search warrant at his home in July 2012. As police questioned Kinn concerning child porn downloaded from an IP address that led to the business of Kinn's parents, he admitted to possessing the videos, according to court documents. An investigator then interrupted Kinn and read him his rights.
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Kinn's lawyer, Thomas Kuesel, argued Kinn was intimidated by police into giving incriminating testimony. Benshoof suppressed the motion, writing: Kinn spoke with investigators "for the next 30 minutes," after being read a Miranda warning, "never invoking his right to counsel or to remain silent."
