FRESNO -  A federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment yesterday against Jacob Jacobsen, 27, of Modesto, charging him with four counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Jacobsen came to the attention of law enforcement in Memphis, Tennessee, when the mother of a 13-year-old girl reported that Jacobsen had been communicating with her through Snapchat, requesting sexually explicit content. Investigators with the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis FBI Office executed numerous search warrants.

They discovered that Jacobsen had been in contact with as many as 175 victims while using the Snapchat screen names “trippinj” and “treydawgg2000.” Jacobsen often purported to be 16 or 17 years old when communicating with victims and requesting that they create and send him sexually explicit photographs and videos.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Memphis Police Department and the Memphis and Ripon FBI Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Jacobsen faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The potential punishments for receipt of child pornography include a prison term of 20 years and a fine of $250,000. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the court's discretion after considering any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.