Google Tip Leads to Rochester Man’s Child Porn Conviction

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man is now awaiting sentencing for a child pornography conviction.

According to Olmsted County Court records, 31-year-old Taylor Andrew Nelson was charged last year following an investigation by the Rochester Police Department. The criminal complaint says the investigation was initiated after investigators received a tip from Google.

Cloud Account Linked to Suspected Abuse Material

The court document indicates that 14 videos depicting suspected child sexual abuse material were uploaded to a cloud account in October of last year. Investigators were able to trace that account to Nelson, who had previously been linked to suspected child sexual abuse material through a tip received by police in 2021.

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The investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Nelson’s residence in December of last year. The criminal complaint says police seized a cellphone, and Nelson gave a statement to investigators admitting that he had been viewing child pornography on the phone for the past six to seven years.

Forensic Search Reveals Dozens of Illegal Files

The criminal complaint also says the files uploaded to the cloud account included a video depicting the sexual assault of a girl estimated to be 5–7 years old. The court document indicates a forensic examination of Nelson’s cellphone led to the discovery of 67 images and videos of child sexual abuse material. The analysis found that one of the videos, which depicted a sexual assault on a 7–9-year-old girl, was accessed in late October of last year.

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Nelson was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and was scheduled to stand trial later this month. Instead, he entered into a plea agreement on Tuesday and admitted to one of the felony charges.

Nelson is scheduled to be sentenced in January.