Rochester man sentenced to 17 years in prison for producing child pornography

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man has been sentenced to more than a decade in prison for producing child pornography.

U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim ordered Arkady Pichurin to spend 204 months, or 17 years, in prison followed by 25 years of supervised release after being sentenced for producing sexually explicit images and videos of a minor. Pichurin must also pay $5,000 to the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund.

According to a press release from The United States Department of Justice, "between November 8, 2020, and January 8, 2021, Arkady Pavlovich Pichurin, 26, sexually exploited a minor who was between the ages of nine and 10 years old at the time. Pichurin, who contacted the minor using a variety of instant messaging and texting services, including Snapchat, lied about his age and identity to carry out his sexual exploitation of the minor. Pichurin admitted to using similar tactics to sexually exploit and produce pornographic images and videos of more than 20 minors. Pichurin also had thousands of images depicting sexual abuse of infants and toddlers and bestiality."

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Rochester Police Department, with substantial assistance from the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office.

Pichurin is also facing 10 charges of possession of pornography in Olmsted County. As part of a plea agreement in that case, Pichurin pled guilty to all ten counts in December, 2021 and nearly 50 other charges were dismissed. He is scheduled to be sentenced for the Olmsted County charges on April 4.

If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or visit NCMEC’s web site at www.missingkids.com.