Theo Hudson Cooper, 24, Minot, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of Class C felony possession of child pornography. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 4, 2022, according to court records. Judge Gary Lee also has issued an order for a pre-sentence risk assessment. Cooper had been scheduled to go to trial on three Class C felony possession of child pornography charges on Sept. 21.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, the Minot Police Department received a report in December 2019 from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which had received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Cooper had uploaded three illegal images to the internet. The images depict the sexual abuse of young children.

Police obtained a warrant and searched Cooper’s electronics. According to the affidavit, Cooper acknowledged using the app Discord to chat online and to using the email address associated with the upload of the illegal images. Cooper admitted that he had traded the illegal images five or six times in 2019.

A search of Cooper’s electronics contained multiple illegal images, according to the affidavit.