A report to the St. Paul police led to the investigation into the case of a Carlton County man accused of many felonies related to suspected child sex abuse.
In March, St. Paul police were called to the Minnesota Children’s Museum when an 11-year-old complained to staff members that someone had taken photographs of him in a restroom stall. According to a police report, officers gathered information and determined the suspect to be 28-year-old Stephan J. Hansen.
The Carlton County sheriff’s office was given the case after a follow-up investigation in St. Paul found up pornographic material featuring a kid.
According to a press statement from the Carlton County Attorney’s Office, Hansen has been a licensed foster care provider and the Fond du Lac Foster Care Licensing and Placement Agency has asked for a temporary immediate suspension of his license.
According to a news release, as of Tuesday, none of the kids shown in pornographic pictures and videos reportedly discovered on Hansen’s phone and iCloud storage account were foster kids. At the time of Hansen’s arrest, no foster children were staying at his house.
Hansen, a resident of Carlton, is accused of abusing five kids. He is accused of five charges of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of possession of child pornography, and five counts of employing a juvenile to manufacture pornography. He is also accused of one case of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
