A man from Turtle Lake has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges related to child sexual exploitation and abuse. His case is scheduled to go to trial in late October.
Aaron Jacobs has been charged with two counts of promoting or directing an obscene sexual performance by a minor, as well as four counts related to possession of prohibited materials. If found guilty of the allegations of promoting or directing, Jacobs could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000.
Convictions for possession of prohibited materials can result in up to five years of imprisonment and fines of up to $10,000. Registration as a sex offender is required for each charge.
An inquiry into Jacobs commenced in February. An affidavit states that McLean County deputies discovered over 1,000 images of child exploitation and child sexual abuse materials on his cellphone and an external computer hard drive during a search warrant execution.
The affidavit stated that some of the images seemed to have been manipulated, with faces allegedly replaced by those of Jacobs and two underage girls from McLean County.
According to the affidavit, additional images were found that reportedly depicted underage girls involved in a range of explicit activities. According to the document, a significant number of the girls seemed to be younger than 10 years old.
Court documents reveal that there was a significant delay between the issuance of an arrest warrant on March 2 and Jacobs being booked into jail on June 11. According to the documents, deputies visited Jacobs’ residence in Turtle Lake on March 8, only to discover that he had abruptly left his job and fled the vicinity as reported by The Bismarck Tribune.
Jacobs is currently being held in custody at the McLean County jail with a cash bond of $100,000.