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There was a hearing held December 16 and another has been scheduled for February 17, in Center City district court,  both related to charges arising from an investigation by the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension into a Rush City man.  

Kevin Gene Hemmer, jr., 39 is accused of  five felony level counts of possessing multiple images of child pornography.

The BCA Internet Crimes Against Children reported it received 12,595 tips on child sex abuse materials in 2024 and with a little while remaining in 2025, this number was 12,809 tips.  To submit information of criminal activity involving children call 1-877-996-6222 or e mail [email protected].  The national human trafficking hotline is 1-888-373-7888.

The Rush City case began to come together nearly a year ago when a search warrant was executed by the BCA investigative team at the subject’s home address in Rush City.  A computer and other devices had been tracked digitally to this location,   and contained images involving pre-pubescent females in sexual acts.   The complaint reports the search resulted in seizing  four million files on a number of devices and thousands of images show girls ages 5 to 12 abused by adult males. 

According to the  summons complaint  Hemmer junior also acknowledged creating A-I images involving children, when he was interviewed.  The court was told he stated he knew he should not be accessing these files depicting sexual abuse of minor age individuals.

He is charged with five felony counts of possession of specific images, charged out by the Chisago County Attorney’s Office in November 2025.  In the wake of the Dec 16 hearing he is released on supervised conditions and must submit to random searches of devices. He must attend all court appearances, including the next evidentiary hearing in court Feb 17 via Zoom. 

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