CRIME

Wetterling killer to be sentenced on child porn charge

Associated Press
Published | Updated

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2009 file photo, Patty and Jerry Wetterling show a photo of their son Jacob Wetterling, who was abducted in October 1989 in St. Joseph, Minn and was still missing, in Minneapolis. Daniel Heinrich, of Minnesota, who confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Jacob, has shed "countless tears" for Jacob and his family in the 27 years since his death, his lawyer said in a court filing Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. Heinrich is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Monday, Nov. 21 on a child pornography charge that stemmed from the investigation into Jacob's disappearance. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with murder. (AP Photo/Craig Lassig, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office shows Danny Heinrich, of Minnesota. Heinrich, who confessed to kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling, of St. Joseph, Minn., has shed "countless tears" for Jacob and his family in the 27 years since his death, his lawyer said in a court filing Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016. Heinrich is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Monday, Nov. 21 on a child pornography charge that stemmed from the investigation into Jacob's disappearance. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to charge him with murder. (Sherburne County Sheriff's Office via AP, File) (The Associated Press)

A Minnesota man who recently confessed to abducting, sexually assaulting and killing 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling 27 years ago is due to be sentenced on a child pornography charge.

Fifty-three-year-old Danny Heinrich is due in federal court Monday morning.

He led authorities to Jacob's remains this summer as part of a plea bargain that ended a mystery that had haunted Minnesota for nearly three decades. In return, prosecutors agreed not to charge Heinrich with murder.

The plea bargain calls for a sentence of 20 years, the maximum the law allows on the child pornography count.

Jacob was abducted near his home in the central Minnesota community of St. Joseph on Oct. 22, 1989.

Heinrich was arrested on child pornography charges last year but kept Jacob's fate secret until this summer.