A 37-year-old Woodbury man was indicted for allegedly producing and possessing child pornography and coercing minors to engage in sexual acts, the U.S. attorney’s office said Monday.

Timothy Lennard Gebhart allegedly coerced a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old to engage in sexually explicit conduct to make pornographic videos that he then distributed by computer and mobile phone, according to court documents.

Authorities say Gebhart did this multiple times between July 2021 and March 2022.

In addition, court documents allege that Gebhart extorted money and other items of value from the 16-year-old by threatening to send nude photos and videos to the minor’s family and friends.

The indictment charges Gebhart with two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort.

Gebhart made his initial court appearance Friday.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. It is the result of an investigation by the Woodbury Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana, the Indiana State Police and the FBI, with help from the Owatonna (Minn.) Police Department.

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