A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer from Minnetonka was sentenced Thursday to nearly six years in federal prison for uploading child pornography to the Kik app in 2022.
Anthony John Crowley (Courtesy of the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office)
Anthony John Crowley, 52, had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Paul to one count of distribution of child pornography, admitting he used the messaging app to upload images of a minor less than 12 years old engaged in sexually explicit conduct in August 2022.
Judge Laura Provinzino gave Crowley the top of sentencing guideline range — 71 months — and 10 years of supervised release.
She said Crowley “had earned his position of trust” after a 23-year career in federal law enforcement. “You wore the badge, people trusted you,” she said. “You knew what you did was wrong.”
Crowley was charged and arrested in June. As part of a September plea agreement, the prosecution agreed to dismiss an indictment charging him with two counts of possessing child pornography.
Court documents said the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tipped off the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in 2022 that someone was using Kik to upload images of child pornography. The account was linked to a phone number and email address belonging to Crowley, a customs and border officer.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant for Crowley’s home and seized his electronic devices, which contained images of child pornography and “child erotica” stories, according to prosecutors.
“Anthony Crowley’s crimes against children are a disgrace,” former acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said after the guilty plea. “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.”
Other officers charged
Crowley was among three Minnesota law enforcement officers charged federally for alleged sex crimes in just over a month’s time.
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Four days before Crowley was charged, a special agent with Homeland Security, Timothy Ryan Gregg, 52, of Eagan, was charged 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. Gregg has pleaded guilty to the sole count of transportation of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexual conduct. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.
A month earlier, Minnesota state trooper Jeremy Francis Plonski, 30, of Shakopee was charged with production of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charge Oct. 8, admitting to repeatedly sexually assaulting a toddler girl while recording the abuse and then sharing the videos with someone he met through the Telegram app. Under a plea agreement, Plonski faces between 23 and 28 years in prison at sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
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