Derrick Stephen Walker, 46, Minot, was sentenced on Wednesday in federal court in Bismarck to a total of 45 years in federal prison for six counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of images depicting the sexual exploitation of a child. Walker was found guilty of the offenses at trial in January.

His co-defendant, Katie Lynn Heidinger, 33, Velva, who had earlier accepted a plea deal in exchange for her cooperation, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, minus time served, for six counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

Both have also been ordered to have no contact with their victims.

Both Heidinger and Walker had originally been charged in state court with related charges before they were indicted in federal court. Heidinger had been accused of sexually abusing three small children in McHenry County, taking video recordings and still images of the abuse with her cell phone, and sending the images to Walker via SnapChat between August 2019 and January 2020.