A Minot man has been charged in U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, with two counts of receiving child pornography from another man from Minnesota.

According to the criminal complaint, Timothy Lee Exley, 43, Minot, was arrested by FBI agents in Minot July 31 and charged with two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography and is currently in custody at the Ward County Detention Center.

Exley is charged in connection with an investigation by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department in Minnesota of an allegation of sexual assault of a juvenile, according to an affidavit filed in the District of Minnesota by FBI Special Agent Jacquelyn Kvilhaug.

The minor victim alleged assaults occurred on numerous occasions while at the residence of a family friend, whom law enforcement say was a pediatric nurse who had seen the victim in a professional capacity.

A search warrant was obtained and executed on March 26 at the suspect’s residence in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. While the victim’s mother initially denied any involvement or knowledge of the sexual assault, law enforcement located two instances of Child Sexual Assault Material (CSAM) in the deleted files of her cell phone, showing her abusing a second juvenile victim. According to the affidavit, the victim’s mother is in custody for sexual assault related charges. A further review of the mother’s cell phone located another deleted video matching the description of the abuse described by the first victim at the suspect’s Vadnais Heights residence.

According to the affidavit, the suspect admitted he recorded, downloaded and distributed CSAM using a number of encrypted messaging apps to other individuals. Exley was identified as one the individuals the suspect distributed the CSAM to, based on a review of additional devices found at the suspect’s residence, including a series of messages containing CSAM sent between June and August 2024.

Exley was interviewed by Minot FBI agents on June 27 at his residence in Minot and admitted to having seen the messages. Exley told the interviewing agents he had met the Minnesota suspect through a dating website.

Kvilhaug wrote Exley aided and abetted the Minnesota suspect “by counseling, commanding, requesting, and inducing him to employ, use, persuade, induce and entice,” the minor victims to produce images which were then transmitted across state lines.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Clare Hochhalter of Bismarck has ordered the appointment of a public defender for Exley, who is scheduled to appear by telephone at a preliminary hearing in federal court Aug. 6.