St. Louis County Man Sentenced To 33 Years On Child Porn Charges

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Cherry, Minnesota man will spend the next 33 years in prison for the production and possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota announced Thursday.

Prosecutors say Sean Gerald Penoncello, 42, for possessing nude images of a 5-year-old and 14-year-old victims, obtained by investigators from a thumb drive at his home. They also discovered a surreptitious recording device in his truck.

The images were first discovered when pictures of the 5-year-old were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in April 2014.

"Penoncello is a predator," said Assistant United States Attorney Laura Provinzino. "Not only did he commit a series of heinous crimes against women and children, but he also showed not one iota of remorse to his victims, including a 5-year-old girl entrusted to his care. The long sentence handed down today is warranted."

If you know of a child who may have been exploited, you can contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.