No restitution for man convicted of abducting, killing Jacob Wetterling

Published 10:26 am Wednesday, February 15, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS — The man who admitted last year that he abducted and killed Jacob Wetterling in 1989 will not have to pay restitution to his victims.

Danny Heinrich

Danny Heinrich

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Danny Heinrich won’t pay restitution, after the government told the court that no restitution was owed.

Heinrich is serving 20 years in federal prison for child pornography.

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As part of a plea deal on that count, he confessed to kidnapping, molesting and killing 11-year-old Jacob, though he was not charged in the boy’s murder. He led authorities to Jacob’s remains in central Minnesota last fall, ending a mystery that haunted the state for nearly three decades.

Jacob’s abduction gained national attention and led to changes in sex offender registry laws.