A 43-year-old Sartell man on Friday pleaded guilty in federal court to producing child pornography.

Dennis Michael Lemke admitted to authorities that on April 12, 2006, he knowingly convinced a then-12-year-old to "engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct," according to Lemke's plea agreement.

According to an FBI search warrant affidavit, investigators seized a computer, electronic storage media and a digital camera from Lemke's residence in St. Cloud. They found sexually explicit images of children on the computer and determined that some of the images were taken by the type of digital camera seized at Lemke's. Several images featured Lemke.

Lemke faces a prison sentence of up to 30 years. U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank will determine his sentence.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national effort launched in May 2006 to fight the growth of child sexual exploitation. For more information, go to www.projectsafe-childhood.gov.

Officials have launched 59 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces across the country, including in Minnesota.

Local FBI officials say that a survey of men convicted for possessing or distributing child pornography found that more than 80 percent of them also produced it.

JAMES WALSH