A man from the state of Wisconsin has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking minors in the Philippines, according to the US Department of Justice.
Donald a Stenson, 67, travelled to the Philippines several times since 2007 and “repeatedly engaged in sexual activity with minors,” the agency said quoting court documents.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, US Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago.
Officials from the Philippines participated in the investigation of the case together with HSI Milwaukee, HSI’s Manila Transnational Criminal Investigation Unit, and HSI Bangkok.
“Between 2016 and 2019, Stenson lured five minor victims between the ages of approximately 11 and 17 into commercial sex arrangements, engaging in sexual activity with the victims and then providing them with money and gifts.”
The department said that a search conducted on Stenson’s electronic devices showed “multiple images and videos of the minor victims, including a video depicting Stenson engaging in sex acts with a minor.”
“The search also uncovered sexually explicit messages with minors and messages in which Stenson discussed engaging in sex acts with the minor victims with John Burgdorff, 66, of West Allis. Burgdorff traveled with Stenson to the Philippines, and Stenson encouraged the victims to meet with Burgdorff, who then also engaged them in commercial sexual activity.”
Stenson, the agency added, was identified based on a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
The suspects were both arrested at Burgdorff’s residence and charged as co-defendants in connection with their sex trafficking of these minor victims.
Burgdorff was sentenced in November 2022 to two and a half years in prison for engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place.
Meanwhile, Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant US Attorneys Megan J. Paulson and Abbey M. Marzick for the Eastern District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case, with assistance from CEOS Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the US Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The program, which is led by US Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
