Southern Minnesota man sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexual exploitation of child in Thailand

A Blooming Prairie man was sentenced to 17½ years in federal prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor in Thailand.

Steven John Sokel, 61, was handed the sentence last week in U.S. District Court in St. Paul after he pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. An additional count of sexual exploitation of children and possession of child pornography were dismissed.

According to federal court documents, Sokel began communicating in April 2022 over the internet with the mother of a pre-pubescent minor in Thailand. The following September, he traveled to Thailand and stayed with the victim and the mother for a month. During his time abroad, Sokel produced sexually explicit images of the female minor victim.

On Sept. 29, 2022, Sokel left Thailand and, during a layover in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials found sexual pleasure devices, handcuffs and condoms in Sokel’s luggage. Sokel’s electronic devices were searched and agents found child sexual abuse images.

Because of the search and questioning, Sokel missed his flight back to the United States, allowing time for law enforcement to search his apartment in Blooming Prairie. There, they seized two computers, a tablet, several memory cards and a Canon camera, which contained images of child pornography, as well as receipts for Western Union payments to the mother of the child in Thailand. Sokel’s ex-girlfriend, who was housesitting at his apartment while he was abroad, said her daughters, who are now adults, accused Sokel of molesting them when they were minors. The daughters confirmed the allegations to federal authorities.

In interviews with law enforcement, the mother of the minor victim in Thailand confirmed that Sokel stayed at her house and that the pornographic images of the child were taken inside her house, although she said she did not take them. She also shared electronic communications of Sokel requesting nude photos of her daughter.

On April 18, 2024, Sokel was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possessing child pornography.

In a presentencing memo, Sokel’s attorney, Jill Brisbois, asked for leniency, citing a history of health issues including Jacob’s syndrome, a genetic condition causing learning disabilities, coordination and speech difficulties and behavioral issues. He also has a seizure disorder, a blood condition, chronic joint issues, scoliosis and a serious back injury where a portion of his spine has been fused. His lawyer also said he was sexually assaulted as a child.

“Mr. Sokel’s life has been marked by profound adversity from an early age,” the filing read.

In a response, Assistant U.S. Attorney Campbell Warner recognized Sokel’s health concerns, but said that his health conditions did not impair him from soliciting sexually explicit images of the victim or flying to Thailand to produce his own images.

“Nothing in Sokel’s background excuses using a six-year-old child for his sexual gratification,” the sentencing memorandum read.

“Simply put, if Sokel is in prison, he can’t molest children.”

The court granted Sokel’s placement request at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, near his family and close friends, to serve out his imprisonment.

Sokel’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment.