Perham Man Zachary Nash Sentenced After Guilty Plea in Child Pornography Case

Zachary Michael Nash, 42, of Perham, was sentenced March 2, 2026, in Otter Tail County District Court to 120 days in the Otter Tail County Jail and five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty in December 2025 to two counts of possessing child pornography, Perham Focus and local reporting show. Fergus Now and National Today also reported the guilty plea and the four-month custodial term.

Local investigators say the case began after tips from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force on December 15, 2022, which “said Nash’s computer was possibly in possession of 18 files of child porn,” Fergus Now reported. A search warrant executed by the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office in May 2023 recovered 17 files on Nash’s devices, Fergus Now, KVRR and National Today reported, and Perham Focus said cyber tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Youth helped alert local law enforcement.

Perham Focus reports Nash was initially charged April 7, 2025, with six felony counts of possessing pornographic material involving minors identified as under 13 and 14 years old, with alleged incidents dating back as far as February 2021. Per the plea agreement reported by Perham Focus, Nash was convicted of two of the six felony counts and four other charges were dismissed; Perham Focus identifies the plea hearing as Dec. 19, 2025.

The court’s sentence included a count-specific provision: on count two, which Perham Focus reports is alleged to have occurred on Oct. 23, 2022, Nash received a 24-month state prison term at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud that was stayed for five years. Perham Focus also reports that work release was authorized up to 70 hours per week under jail rules and policies, and that Nash was placed on five years of supervised probation with conditions set by the court.

Perham Focus quoted courtroom remarks about serving locations, reporting, “Benson told Nash that some people have been serving their sentences in other county jails due to less strict work release rules, stating that with his convictions, it is uncertain if Otter Tail County would grant work release. Serving in a different county was approved by Benson at Nash’s expense.” Fergus Now reports Nash’s confinement is scheduled to begin April 1.

The case underscores the role of multiagency cyberreferrals in Otter Tail County prosecutions: investigators relied on ICAC tips and NCMEC notifications that led to a May 2023 search and the subsequent charges, local reporting shows. Anyone with information related to this investigation may contact the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office for follow-up; court records list the sentencing and the conditions that will govern Nash’s confinement and five-year probationary period.