BREAKING NEWS: Blooming Prairie man sentenced in international sexual exploitation case

A Blooming Prairie man has been sentenced to more than 17 years (210 months) in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release in an international sex case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick announced the sentence Wednesday involving Steven John Sokel, 61. He was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court by Judge Eric T. Tostrud on one count of sexual exploitation of children.

The case unfolded when Sokel communicated over the internet with the mother of a pre-pubescent minor victim in Thailand. On Sept. 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.

According to court documents, on Sept. 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 U.S. 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.

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.