Man Gets 10 Years For Possessing Child Porn

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 39-year-old Minneapolis man was sentenced in Minneapolis Federal Court on Thursday for possessing about 5,000 images of child pornography.

Clare Richard Skjonsby was sentenced to 10 years in prison on one count of possessing child pornography. He was charged and pleaded guilty on Feb. 22.

In his plea agreement, Skjonsby admitted that on April 2, 2009, he knowingly had visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Skjonsby was arrested as a result of Operation Thin Ice, which targets subscribers of hard core child pornography web sites. Officers identified him as a subscriber to these sites and executed a search warrant on his residence on April 2, 2009.