AITKIN — A 36-year-old man formerly of Aitkin County is facing 13 felony counts of possessing and disseminating child pornography.
The Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office reported Patrick Jennings Brophy has been summoned to appear in Aitkin County District Court on the charges.
Brophy now lives in Greenville, South Carolina.
Local authorities began investigating Brophy in March 2022, after a special agent from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported a pornography upload from an IP address in rural Aitkin.
A total of 33 videos of minor females were uploaded via Kik Messenger and came to the attention of law enforcement through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Brophy was detained by the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office in April 2022, after which search warrants were executed on his devices and home.
His first appearance in the courtroom is scheduled for March 18.
-
Gov. Tim Walz commended Minnesotans’ compassion during tragedy and praised their resilience after a federal immigration crackdown, political assassination and school shooting.
-
Extra dollars in the state will fund the public input process ahead of possible changes to the state's financial aid program.
-
Plus: the federal government approved St. Louis County's public labor agreements for road and bridge projects; an additional 5,000 trees will be distributed in the ReForest Bemidji event; and four Northern Minnesota fire departments will host Women Explore Fire Day events on May 2, 2026.
-
Research indicates that in the coming decades, the state is likely to see more risk days of wildfires starting on the ground due to more extreme droughts connected to climate change.
-
Women Explore Fire Day in Minnesota offers hands-on opportunities to learn more about volunteer, paid on-call and full-time positions in local fire departments in all regions.
-
After 10,000 tree seedlings were claimed within 48 hours, the ReForest Bemidji program secured an additional 5,000 trees for its distribution May 17, 2026.
-
A recent national study found an increasing number of federal environmental impact statements are receiving significant contributions from citizen science data.
-
The multi-bill omnibus signed April 21, 2026, allows happy hours for nursing home residents without a license and expands local authority in some Northern MN communities.
-
The bill would define e-bikes as having output of no more than 750 watts, and motorized bicycles, 750-1,500 watts. Anything with higher power is defined as an electric motorcycle.
-
Three of the communities receiving grant funding in this cycle are in Northern Minnesota: Floodwood, Fosston and Deer River.