Zimmerman Man Convicted on Federal Child Pornography Charges

MINNEAPOLIS -- A Zimmerman man has been convicted on federal child pornography charges.

The U.S. Attorney's office says a jury convicted 40-year-old Levi Burns on a charge of distribution of child pornography. Burns also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography in the case.

The Attorney's Office says Burns was living in his parents' basement in January 2014 when he was found to be sharing electronic files and videos of child pornography. He also was operating a large number of computers and a specially built computer with several hard drives, some of which were being used to store and share thousands of illegal files.

Authorities say Burns was using so much computer power that he and his parents were using the heat from the machines to heat their home that winter.

Burns also has a previous Sherburne County conviction from 2005. He was convicted in that case of third degree criminal sexual conduct for engaging in sexual acts with a 15-year-old girl.

No sentencing date has been set yet for the federal conviction.