UPDATE 9/5/23 4:10 p.m.
On Tuesday, Nathan Gary Christensen was sentenced to 30 years minimum in the 28th Circuit Court for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl and an infant boy related to him. He was previously sentenced in U.S. District Court to 90 years.
8/22/23 3:30 p.m.
A Manton man was sentenced Tuesday to 1,080 months in prison - 90 years - for sexual exploitation of children, some as young as 3 days old, announced Mark Totten, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan.
If Nathan Gary Christensen, 45, of Manton, is ever granted parole, he would be required to spend the rest of his life on supervised release.
“Mr. Christensen’s sexual abuse of innocent children is horrific,” Totten said. “This 90-year sentence does not begin to undo the harm he’s inflicted on our most vulnerable. No sexual predator who learns of Mr. Christensen’s fate should experience a moment of ease: we will find you and we will hold you accountable.”
“These crimes are nothing less than monstrous,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. “My thoughts are with the victims in this case, and it is my hope that today’s sentencing will bring some measure of peace as they heal from these horrific crimes.”
At sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou denounced Christensen’s conduct as horrific. Jarbou stated that in her 25 years of experience as a lawyer and judge, she had not seen anything like this before.
He “abused trust in the worse possible way and did it for years and did it to multiple victims” with children as young as “3 days old and 3 months old,” Jarbou said.
Jarbou said that “a life sentence is appropriate,” and sentenced Christensen to 90 years to protect the community, punish him for his conduct and to send a message of deterrence to others who might contemplate sexually abusing children.
In September 2022, Christensen was identified by Australian Federal Police as a collector of child pornography and a potential producer and contacted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). In October 2022, HSI and the Michigan State Police located Christensen and executed search warrants on his home and another associated residence. HSI and MSP then identified Christensen and recognized rooms in the home as the background of some of the images and videos. Christensen was immediately arrested on state charges of criminal sexual assault.
Computer forensic examination disclosed hundreds of thousands of images and videos of child pornography. Christensen was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2023, and transferred to federal custody.
In total, eight children were identified as victims and located. Two of the victims had special needs.
In March 2023, Christensen pleaded guilty to three counts stemming from his production of child pornography.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru and investigated by HSI Grand Rapids, Michigan State Police, MSP Internet Crimes Against Children taskforce in Traverse City, and the Missaukee County Sheriff’s Office in coordination with the Missaukee County Prosecutor’s Office.
