A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer from Minnetonka admitted in federal court Friday to uploading child pornography to the Kik app in 2022.
Anthony John Crowley, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to one count of possession of child pornography and will remain jailed ahead of sentencing, which has not been scheduled. He was charged and arrested in June.
Crowley, who at the time was employed as a customs and border officer, used the messaging app to upload images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to federal prosecutors.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tipped off the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that someone was using Kik to upload images of child pornography. The account was linked to Anthony John Crowley’s phone number and email address.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Crowley’s home and seized his electronic devices, which contained images of child pornography and what are known as “child erotica” stories, prosecutors said.
“Anthony Crowley’s crimes against children are a disgrace,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson for Minnesota said in a Friday statement. “In the last few months, we have seen a rash of law enforcement officers, public officials, and others in positions of trust abusing children. I have zero tolerance for this betrayal.”
Three days before Crowley was charged, a special agent with Homeland Security, Timothy Ryan Gregg, 52, of Eagan, was charged in federal court with producing child sexual abuse material of a 17-year-old girl after authorities say images and videos of the two engaged in sexual activity were found on her cellphone on May 29. His case is ongoing.
A month earlier, Minnesota state trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, 30, of Shakopee was charged federally with production of child pornography. Scott County prosecutors also charged him with first-degree criminal sexual conduct of an infant.
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