Red Wing man convicted of sexually assaulting toddler now faces federal charges

RED WING, Minn. – A Red Wing man convicted of sexually assaulting a toddler now faces federal charges for allegedly luring two different boys into producing child pornography that federal prosecutors say he created.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Wednesday announced that Nicolas Ryan Heath, 27, was indicted in federal court on five felony counts of producing child pornography.

Heath is currently serving a one-year jail sentence in Goodhue County following a July conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct. During the July plea hearing, he admitted in court to sexually abusing a 3-year-old boy known to him.

The latest charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years on each count, with a minimum penalty of 15 years on each count.

According to a Department of Justice press release, the federal charges stemmed from five separate incidents between December 2006 and August 2009, where Heath allegedly coerced two boys “to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography.”

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