ST. PAUL, Minn. — The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota announced July 26 that Steven John Sokel, 61, of Blooming Prairie, pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting children outside the United States.
According to court documents, between April 2022 and September 2022, Sokel was engaged in the production of child sexual abuse material. He was also found to be in possession of sexually explicit images and videos of minors.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) St. Paul and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.
Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.
Learn more about HSI’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSISaintPaul.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.