Palm Springs Man pleads guilty to distributing sexually explicit videos of children via Zoom

A Palm Springs area man has pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography after he was caught streaming sexually explicit videos of children in a Zoom online meeting. 

In two separate incidents between February and March of 2018, Michael John Andersen, 53, presented five separate videos of child pornography over Zoom, two of which featured toddlers.

The Zoom meeting room where Andersen displayed the videos had been previously identified by law enforcement as a meeting place for those interested in sexually explicit images and videos of children. 

In August of 2018, authorities executed a search warrant on Andersen’s residence and found 151 images and nine videos of child pornography. 

Andersen’s hearing has been scheduled for October 24th, with his charge of distributing child pornography carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison.