United States of America v. Steven John Sokel

Saint Paul, Minnesota criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with International Sexual Exploitation of Children

Steele County Man Sentenced to Over 17 Years for International Sexual Exploitation of Children

Beginning in April 2022, Steven John Sokel, 61, began communicating over the internet with the mother of a pre-pubescent minor victim in Thailand. On September 1, 2022, Sokel traveled to Thailand and stayed with the victim and the mother for almost a full month. During his time abroad, Sokel produced images of the minor victim engaging in sexually explicit activity.



On September 29, 2022, Sokel left Thailand and had a layover in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi airport has a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) preclearance facility for passengers flying to the United States. After finding items like sexual pleasure devices, handcuffs, and condoms in Sokel's luggage, CBP officers conducted a search and found the child sexual abuse material on Sokel's password-protected laptop.



Sokel was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge Eric T. Tostrud on one count of sexual exploitation of children.



This case is the result of an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.



Assistant U.S. Attorney Campbell Warner prosecuted the case.