A southwestern Minnesota man is charged with producing pornography involving three children, allegations that led to his wife losing her home day care license.

Chad T. VanLerberghe, 44, of Marshall, appeared in federal court Wednesday in Minneapolis on eight counts of producing, attempting to produce or distributing child pornography.

The judge ordered VanLerberghe to surrender immediately to federal marshals before his next hearing, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 19.

His defense attorney declined Thursday to respond to the allegations.

Prosecutors say that VanLerberghe took explicit photos of two girls and an infant boy from Nov. 15, 2019, until Feb. 14, less than a week before state Department of Human Services regulators imposed an immediate suspension of the home day care license for his wife, Lupita VanLerberghe.

The order imposing the suspension said "children served by your program are at an imminent risk of harm" and was prompted by "a serious incident involving a household member in your home that is under investigation by law enforcement."

The suspension led to the license being revoked on May 20, once state regulators determined that the household member was responsible for maltreatment of the children, the follow-up order read.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed Thursday that the allegations against Chad VanLerberghe are what led to his wife losing her day care license.

Lupita VanLerberghe's day care was licensed to care for up to 12 children. The VanLerberghes are parents to five children, ranging in age from 1 to 13.

As of Thursday, authorities have not disclosed the custody status of their children.

A year earlier, Lupita VanLerberghe was cited by the state for failing to receive various safety training instruction, and failing to have someone on-site trained in first aid and CPR.