FARGO – Interim United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced that on June 9, 2022, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter D. Welte sentenced Jeffrey Lee Buckmeier, age 42, Fargo, ND, to 27 years in federal prison for the charges of Receipt and Distribution of Materials Containing Child Pornography and Possession of Materials Containing Child Pornography. Chief Judge Welte also sentenced Buckmeier to a lifetime period of supervised release and ordered him to pay $84,000 in restitution to the child victims depicted in his child pornography collection.
This case came to the attention of law enforcement after KIK reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that one of its users uploaded 27 files of child pornography to a KIK group on January 22 and 24, 2021. A subsequent investigation identified the defendant, Jeffrey Buckmeier, a thrice-convicted sex offender, as the user of the KIK account. In an attempt to avoid detection, Buckmeier used the IP addresses of several local businesses to download child pornography on his cell phone.
On August 27, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Buckmeier’s residence located in Fargo, ND. A forensic examination of the devices seized from the residence revealed more than 11,000 images and 900 videos of child pornography
depicting children as young as three months of age. The investigation also revealed that Buckmeier used several social media platforms to communicate and trade child pornography with others.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, and North Dakota Parole and Probation and prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office, with Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Puhl assigned to the case.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the nation, Project Safe Childhood, in conjunction with Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), help federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies enhance their investigative responses to offenders who use the Internet, online communications systems, or computer technology to sexually exploit children. The ICAC Program is a national network of 61 coordinated task forces engaging in proactive investigations, forensic investigations, and criminal prosecutions. Project Safe Childhood also helps to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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