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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Minneapolis Daycare Worker Pleads Guilty to Federal Child Exploitation Charges
Eric Phillip Allen, 41, has pleaded guilty in federal court to producing and distributing child sexual abuse material involving children at a Minneapolis daycare where he worked, while a separate Hennepin County case remains pending.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (October 5, 2026).
A Minneapolis daycare worker has pleaded guilty to federal charges of producing and distributing child sexual abuse material involving children entrusted to the facility where he worked, moving a case that began with his 2024 arrest toward federal sentencing while related state charges remain pending.
Eric Phillip Allen, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday before U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Federal court records establish that Allen worked at a Minneapolis daycare between January 1 and August 2, 2024.
According to the Justice Department, Allen photographed or recorded minor victims enrolled at the daycare for his sexual gratification and distributed child sexual abuse material over the internet.
Federal prosecutors said the online activity also included sexually explicit comments concerning minor victims.
MinneapoliMedia is withholding unnecessary graphic details because the victims are children and additional description is not needed to understand the criminal conduct to which Allen has pleaded guilty.
The case began more than two years ago.
Allen was initially charged by federal complaint on August 14, 2024, and a federal grand jury indicted him six days later.
His guilty plea fundamentally changes the legal posture of the federal case. The charges are no longer allegations that Allen is contesting. By pleading guilty, he has admitted criminal responsibility for the federal offenses covered by the plea.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigated the case.
Federal prosecutors Evan Gilead, Mary S. Riverso and William C. Mattessich are handling the prosecution through the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota.
The case is also being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national Justice Department initiative that coordinates federal, state and local resources to investigate child exploitation, prosecute offenders and identify victims.
Allen's federal guilty plea does not end all criminal proceedings connected to the case.
He also faces charges in Hennepin County stemming from the same underlying investigation. Those state charges include possession of child sexual abuse material and interference with the privacy of a minor, according to court information reported following the federal plea. A state jury trial has been scheduled for November.
The federal and state cases operate independently, meaning resolution of the federal prosecution does not automatically dispose of the Hennepin County charges.
The circumstances of the offenses also make the case particularly significant for families because prosecutors say the conduct occurred while Allen occupied a position of trust inside a childcare setting.
Children enrolled in daycare depend on adults and institutions to provide supervision and protection. Parents similarly entrust providers with access to children during periods when family members are not present.
Federal authorities emphasized that breach of trust following Allen's guilty plea.
The case also demonstrates how child-exploitation investigations increasingly cross the boundary between physical environments and digital distribution.
The alleged conduct began inside a daycare, according to federal court documents, but material was subsequently distributed through the internet. That combination required investigators to address both the original production of the material and its electronic dissemination.
Allen now awaits federal sentencing.
The court will consider the applicable federal sentencing statutes and guidelines before determining his punishment. The precise sentencing date had not been announced in the latest official information available.
Meanwhile, the separate Hennepin County prosecution remains pending.
For the families affected, Thursday's plea represents a significant point in a case that has been moving through the criminal-justice system since 2024: Allen has now formally admitted in federal court that he produced and distributed child sexual abuse material while employed at a Minneapolis daycare.
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