Burnsville Man Who Used Minors in Multistate Sex Ring Gets 28 Years

Arthur Chappell's first sex trafficking conviction was overturned in 2012 on a technicality, but after a retrial and conviction, he was sentenced Friday to 28 years.

Burnsville resident Arthur J. Chappell was given 28 years in prison on Friday for running a multistate prostition ring in which he drugged and raped women and advertised the sexual services of two underage teenage girls in Backpage and Craigslist ads, the Star Tribune is reporting. Authorities closed down Chappell's sex ring in 2007, but an initial conviction and 28-year sentence were overturned in January 2012 after the U.S. District Court botched its jury instructions. Chappell, 40, was retried and convicted a second time in October of two counts of sex trafficking a minor and several charges for possessing and producing child pornography. In a court filing, prosecutors described Chappell as a "cold and calculating liar and a …

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Lawsuit Against Disgraced Boy Scout Leader Settled

A settlement has been reached in one of two civil cases against former Burnsville scoutmaster Peter Stibal II, who is currently serving a 21 year sentence for child molestation.

Attorneys have reached a settlement in a lawsuit against a former Burnsville scoutmaster convicted of molesting four boys in his troop. However, the battle is not over for 48-year-old Peter Stibal II, ex-leader of Burnsville's Troop 650. In June of 2011, Stibal pleaded guilty to multiple counts child molestation and possession of child pornography, though he simultaneously insisted that he was innocent. He is currently serving a 21 year sentence for his crimes. Not long after his sentencing, two civil suits were filed by the victims against Stibal and the organizations that they say sheltered him—the Boy Scouts of America, the Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Mary, Mother of the Church, and the Archdiocese of St. Paul …

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Parents Talk

Parents Talk: When are Naked Photos of Children OK?

The child pornography charges against football coach Todd Hoffner have many parents asking what types of photos are appropriate.

Child pornography is usually pretty clear-cut. That’s what former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner told Minnesota Public Radio on Thursday. The cases she handled were typically “pretty hardcore stuff” that were easily identifiable as child pornography. But that’s not so clear in the case of Todd Hoffner, the Minnesota State University—Mankato football coach charged with making pornographic videos of his children. On Wednesday, Hoffner’s attorney told a court the videos found on Hoffner’s work phone were of innocent family moments with his children—who were between the ages of 4 and 9 years old. Photos of naked children are hardly unknown to parents. Mothers and fathers lovingly capture moments of toddlers bathing in sinks or …

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Police Seek Suspect in I-35 E Shooting on Sunday

In other crime news from across the South Metro region, an Apple Valley man is charged with strangling a woman, and a Burnsville man is convicted of trafficking underage girls.

The following articles first appeared on Patch sites throughout the South Metro region during the past week. To read the full articles, click on the headline links. Road Rage Likely the Cause of I-35E Shooting, Eagan Police Say Investigators are looking for a dark-colored SUV. Police say an occupant of the vehicle shot at another car twice, wounding one of the passengers. Dad Allegedly Abused 5-Year-Old Daughter, Filmed the Abuse for Pornography Dakota County Attorney: Mom knew of abuse and failed to stop it. Apple Valley Man Charged with Strangling, Threatening Woman Police say Dwayne Washington choked the victim, threatened to kill her and kept a gun in the closet which had its serial number illegally scratched off. Apple Valley Police …

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Burnsville Man Convicted of Using Minors in Sex Trafficking Ring

On Wednesday, a federal jury found Arthur J. Chappell, 40, guilty of trafficking underage girls through Craigslist and Backpage, as well as possession and production of child pornography.

A Burnsville man could face life in prison for trafficking minors through a multistate prostitution ring. On Wednesday, a jury in Minneapolis' federal circuit court found Arthur J. Chappell, 40, guilty of eleven charges, including two counts of sex trafficking a minor and several charges for possessing and producing child pornography. The verdict has been a long time coming. This January, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a 28-year prison sentence imposed on Chappell due to improper jury instructions, prompting a retrial.  Federal prosecutors say that the prostitution ring was active from August of 2006 until the case against Chappell broke in June 2007, when Bloomington Police officers discovered four women in a hotel room rented under…

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Savage Man Charged with Allegedly Harboring More Than 600 Files of Child Porn

Patrick Arthur Swinton, 55, faces three felony charges for possession of child pornography.

A Savage man has been charged with possession of child pornography after investigators allegedly uncovered 600 files containing explicit images of minors on two hard drives in his home. Patrick Arthur Swinton, 55, is charged with three felony counts of possession of child pornography. According to a report in the Savage Pacer, Swinton was the subject of a lengthy investigation that took place between Dec. 27, 2011 and Jan. 22, 2012. An officer with the Minnesota Cyber Crime Task Force used Undercover Investigative Software (UIS) to make contact with a host computer, later determined to be Swinton's. Through the remote access program, the officer determined that there were at least 80 files containing known or suspected child pornography …

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Burnsville Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

Joseph Matthias Berendt, already serving a 12-year sentence in St. Cloud for criminal sexual conduct, has now been charged with possessing pornographic images and videos depicting children as young as toddler age.

A Burnsville man serving time in prison for a first-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction has been charged with possession of child pornography. Joseph Matthias Berendt, also known as Joseph Mathias Greeman, 33, is serving a 12-year sentence at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud. He pleaded guilty in November 2010 to the charge and was sentenced in January 2011. He is now charged with one count of possession of child pornography, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police executed a search warrant at Berendt’s home on March 30, 2010, and seized items including a computer tower and an external hard drive. Berendt was home at the time of …

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Burnsville Man Charged with Possession of Child Pornography

Timothy Lee Meadors faces six felony charges of possessing child pornography.

A Burnsville man has been charged with six counts of possession of child pornography. Timothy Lee Meadors, 49, faces six felony counts of child pornography possession, each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. According to the criminal complaint, a Minneapolis police officer assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force was alerted last April to a host computer offering to share child pornography files with others. Officers identified the host computer as belonging to Meadors and executed a search warrant in early June on his home in the 2100 block of South Skyline Drive. They seized two computers, one from Meadors’ basement and another from his bedroom, and three external hard drives…

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