An Apple Valley man was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors.
Joseph T. Perkins, 36, was sentenced in federal court for contacting four victims, soliciting sexually explicit photos from them and meeting with them on "multiple occasions" between 2013 and 2016, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Perkins, who pleaded guilty in January to one count of production of child pornography, also engaged in sexual acts with the minors and photographed them.
Perkins pleaded guilty in 2016 in Dakota County to one count of possession of child pornography. That same year, he also pleaded guilty in Scott County to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a fifth minor.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, he solicited a sixth minor online in 2016, unaware that he was communicating with an undercover officer. Perkins believed the minor was a 14-year-old girl, and arranged to meet her, engage in sexual activity and photograph the meeting.
Perkins was arrested and charged in Washington County with online solicitation.
Authorities said the federal case was a joint investigation between the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the FBI.
Perkins was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
