A former Duluth firefighter who is already facing sexual assault charges in State District Court has now been indicted on federal child pornography charges.
The seven-count indictment against 33-year-old Caleb Stuart Lofald was returned by a grand jury March 9, according to documents recently unsealed in U.S. District Court.
The felony charges include allegations that Lofald produced, possessed and received numerous images and videos containing suspected child pornography on multiple electronic devices.
Lofald is already facing serious charges, including first- and second-degree criminal sexual conduct, at the state level. A criminal complaint filed in January alleges that he sexually assaulted a 4-month-old girl and distributed images of the incident from a Duluth fire hall.
He is also accused of surreptitiously recording a 6-year-old boy and an adult woman in various stages of undress in a guest room at his Hermantown home.
The case was investigated by Lake Superior Forensic Technology and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and search warrants were executed at Lofald’s home and the Duluth Fire Department’s Fire Station 7 on Nov. 20.
A forensic search of computers seized at both locations allegedly turned up 11 images depicting the assault of the infant, as well as video recordings of the boy and adult woman. Court documents indicated that suspected child pornography had been distributed from a computer at the fire station.
The federal charges also allege that Lofald received images and videos of minors engaged in sexual acts on at least five occasions.
Lofald was arrested in January on preliminary state charges, but authorities stressed at the time that the case remained under investigation and that federal charges were likely to result.
The most serious charges in the state and federal cases both carry a maximum of 30 years in prison.
While he was initially placed on paid administrative leave, city officials later confirmed that Lofald’s employment ended on Feb. 2.
Lofald had been held at the St. Louis County Jail since his January arrest, but was transferred last week into federal custody. He made an initial appearance in Minneapolis last week.
