Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek asked for privacy Thursday, a day after his adult son faced felony charges for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor using a cellphone tied to his dad's campaign.
"This is a personal matter and a serious one," Stanek's spokesman Mike Zipko said. "Rich does request privacy for his family. He is not taking any time off and is actively working to continue to manage the department to help keep the people of Hennepin County safe."
Ryan James Stanek was arrested shortly after 10 p.m. on May 19 at the River Hills Mall in Mankato where authorities said the 24-year-old believed he was going to meet a young adult woman and her 13-year-old friend for sex. Instead, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agents arrested Stanek and took him to the Blue Earth County Justice Center, where he told authorities he intended to meet the 13-year-old for sex and knew it was illegal.
The next day, Sheriff Stanek ended speculation that he would run for governor, announcing on Facebook that he would seek re-election as sheriff, a position he has held since January 2007.
Zipko said the sheriff learned of his son's arrest after the fact, but did not indicate precisely when.
A day after the sheriff's re-election announcement, the investigation into Ryan Stanek continued with BCA agents finding images on his cellphone "consistent with child pornography" involving girls as young as 3 and girls engaged in sex acts with animals.
Stanek is charged with soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct, soliciting a child through electronic communication to engage in sexual conduct, engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child, and possessing child pornography. He is to appear in court June 22.
The sheriff said that his son has a phone through the campaign. Through Zipko, Stanek said the cellphone contract is more economical when bundled. His wife and daughter also have cellphones through the campaign.
