STILLWATER, Minn. (FOX 9) - Authorities say a video uploaded to Reddit led investigators to uncover more than 1,700 videos and images of child sexual abuse material on a Stillwater man's iPhone.
Stillwater man charged
What we know:
Benjamin Tatro, 38, is charged with multiple counts of possession of child sexual abuse material following an investigation that dates back to spring of 2026.
The backstory:
According to the charges, the investigation began with a tip report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a video uploaded to Reddit.
Reddit notified NCMEC with an IP address, username, and email address linked to the video upload. NCMEC in turn alerted the Minnesota BCA, who says they obtained an administrative subpoena that linked Tatro to the account.
The charges state authorities and Reddit identified four videos uploaded on the Reddit account of child sexual abuse material.
Investigators find hundreds of images
Dig deeper:
In April, Stillwater police were notified by the Minnesota BCA about their findings in the case. Stillwater police subsequently obtained a search warrant and seized Tatro's iPhone, laptop, and a flash drive.
As Tatro's home was being searched, police spoke with Tatro, who admitted to using Reddit and confirmed his email address. According to the charges, police said Tatro said he was familiar with "the nature of the content" that was being investigated by police. The charges state that Tatro admitted he had uploaded content to Reddit that would "likely be deemed illegal" related to "underage nude images."
By the numbers:
The charges state that a search of Tatro's iPhone uncovered 1,139 videos and 606 images of child sexual abuse material. The charges include graphic descriptions of some of the disturbing videos that police say involve victims as young as infants.
The charges state the laptop had no hard drive and nothing was recovered from it and the flash drive contained only stock images, officials said. The charges don't indicate what happened to the laptop hard drive.
What's next:
Tatro was charged via warrant in late August and made his first court appearance days later. He is due back in court in October.
The Source: A criminal complaint filed in Washington County Court.