Man sentenced to 14 years for possessing child porn, impersonating officer

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) – A Carson, N.D. man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for possessing child pornography and impersonating a federal officer.

U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley says 41-year-old Robert James Zeller was also ordered to serve 5 years of supervised release.

Wrigley says in 2018, while Zeller was on supervised release for committing a prior sex offense, he engaged in sex acts with a minor female and recorded the sex acts on a cellular phone.

Wrigley says Zeller impersonated his federal probation officer, threatened the minor and tricked her into providing videos, photographs, and personal information.

“The defendant was already a convicted sex offender when he attempted to revictimize the same minor child by fraudulently posing as an official,” Wrigley said.

Zeller pleaded guilty last October.