FRESO, California – A federal jury indicted Claus Svelmo Marcuslund on Thursday for allegedly distributing child pornography and attempting to coerce or entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity.
According to the Department of Justice report, the 58-year-old defendant, a Danish national, would have traveled from Denmark to meet a minor in order to sexually exploit him.
The indictment is part of an initiative known as the Safe Childhood Project that seeks to prevent child sexual exploitation and achieve justice for victims of this type of crime, they stated in a press release.
According to court documents, in January 2023, Marcuslund unknowingly contacted an undercover agent who had created a profile of a mother with a seven-year-old daughter on a website dedicated to people interested in pedophilia.
The suspect wrote to the officer: “I am Scandinavian, a professional music producer, composer and lyricist and yes, I am also a pedophile.”
He would also have stated that he was divorced and that he was looking to meet a good woman/mom and hopefully be together in real life one day. The message added: “Obviously you must 100% support pedophilia and incest.”
Over the next few months, Marcuslund sent messages to the undercover investigator via the website’s messaging feature, as well as the fully encrypted Telegram app, detailing the sexual acts he hoped to engage in with the mother and child.
As part of those communications, the defendant also sent images of adults sexually abusing young children and talked about having another child with the mother and abusing the newborn.
Finally, Marcuslund boarded a flight from Copenhagen to Los Angeles International Airport, from where he caught another flight to Fresno. On July 11, Claus Svelmo Marcuslund was arrested upon arrival at the Fresno International Airport and his arrest was ordered for possible escape attempt and danger to the community.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Central Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant US Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting that case.
Several law enforcement agencies participate in an undercover operation that ends with the arrest of 19 people, who were looking for boys and girls for sexual encounters.
