Man accused of abuse of six children

A case that began in March in St. Paul, when a report was made about a nonconsensual picture taken of a juvenile at the Minnesota Children's Museum there, led police to a 28-year-old Carlton man. What came next was a series of pornographic images and videos of children found on the man's phone and in his cloud storage account.

Stephan Jeremiah Hansen was in Sixth Judicial District Court in Carlton July 8 to face 15 felony charges for the explicit content and criminal sexual conduct after Hansen, according to a police report, by admission said he sexually abused five children. Those charges were amended Tuesday after a sixth child also reported sexual abuse.

Hansen has another appearance in court scheduled for Monday, July 18.

Hansen and his wife were licensed foster parents until the charges were brought forward. Their status is now on suspension according to state files on the Fond du Lac Foster Care Licensing & Placement Agency. Police said they have so far found no evidence that foster children were abused.

According to the St. Paul Police Department, officers responded to a call from the Minnesota Children's Museum about a criminal sexual allegation on March 12. They were told that an adult stranger had taken photos of a juvenile male in a bathroom stall. Officers said an employee of the museum provided surveillance footage of Hansen that helped in identifying him. St. Paul officers spoke with Hansen later in March and seized his cell phone under warrant.

Sgt. David McCabe, a spokesman for the St. Paul police, said it took three months to get into Hansen's phone via permissions from a phone company.

Under warrants, on June 28 and July 5, investigators were able to open the phone and found "pornographic material of a minor" on the phone and in a cloud storage account.

The case was soon a collaborative effort with investigators from St. Paul and the Carlton County Sheriff's Office. The county attorney's office said it couldn't respond to questions about a St. Paul police investigation when asked for details on the case and when local officials became involved. The St. Paul department said only that "ultimately this case was turned over to Carlton County Sheriff's Office."

The report filed in court said investigators on June 28 were made aware of "child sexual abuse material" discovered in Hansen's storage account, 99 images and eight videos. The bulk of the material required an additional warrant on July 5. A search warrant was executed on July 6 with investigators from St. Paul and Carlton County.

Police said Stephan Hansen admitted that he had sexually abused five children, mostly when they were in the age range of 3 to 7, and taken pictures and recorded videos.

Some of the children were interviewed on July 7 by First Witness in Duluth and revealed that Hansen had had sexual contact with them. The sixth child was interviewed on July 8 and revealed abuse as well.

The 16 charges include six counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of felony use of a minor in sexual performance or pornographic work. All are felonies. Because of the severity of the charges, Judge Amy Lukasavitz denied a request for release and set Hansen's bail at $500,000.

The investigation is ongoing, police said. Hansen's next court date is set for 9:45 a.m. Monday, July 18. The appearance is scheduled to take place on the court's Zoom account.

Editor's note: This story was edited June 28, 2023 to remove some details which could have identified the victims in this case.

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Resources

Here are some places that you can reach out to for support and advocacy regarding child sexual abuse:

• Carlton County Attorney's Office (218) 384-9170

• Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault

(PAVSA) 218-726-1931

• Mending the Sacred Hoop Coalition in Duluth 218-624-HOOP

• First Witness 218-727-8353

• Fond du Lac Reservation crisis line (218) 348-1817.