Brimson bait shop owner sentenced in child porn case

Apr. 25—DULUTH — A Brimson bait shop owner who told authorities he considered abducting children from a campground has been sentenced to 10 years of supervised probation and sex offender treatment.

Thor Alan Steenerson, 47, will also need to spend the next 364 days at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center, without credit for the time he has already served, under the sentence imposed Tuesday by Judge David Johnson.

Johnson granted a defense motion for a departure from sentencing guidelines after Steenerson pleaded guilty in March to five felony counts of possession of child pornography — a crime for which he was also convicted in 2009.

A 93-month prison term will be stayed as long as Steenerson complies with all conditions, which also include lifetime predatory offender registration and psychiatric evaluation and treatment. He must refrain from accessing all pornography and cannot use the internet or have contact with any minor unless approved by probation.

Steenerson, until his arrest, operated a small bait and grocery store, Brimson Sportsman's Corner, out of a tiny manufactured home adjacent to his residence at 1892 Townline Road.

A criminal complaint said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

began investigating him in May after receiving a tip

from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The nonprofit resource center had been alerted by Google to a user who had uploaded 46 images of suspected child sexual abuse.

When agents executed a search warrant at Steenerson's home, he reportedly admitted to being "heavily involved in acquiring and possessing child sexual assault material." He added that he had disseminated images in the past and, within the prior few months, had destroyed laptop computers because he did not want to get caught.

Steenerson said he wanted to stop using child pornography, according to the complaint, but had not been able to do so. And despite claiming he did not have any computers, agents said they found a laptop in his bedroom with evidence of the images.

Authorities said Steenerson went on to discuss efforts to have children brought to his home, noting he had apparently been "scammed" out of "many thousands of dollars" at some point. He reportedly said he "would not have sex with children" but would watch if they were sexually abused by others in his presence.

St. Louis County prosecutor Nate Stumme also said Steenerson had a sign in his bait shop indicating minors must be accompanied by an adult, with "the purpose being to minimize the risk that he will be tempted."

Steenerson's earlier child porn conviction was the only offense on his record.

He was sentenced in that case to five years of supervised probation, including 90 days in local custody and completion of sex offender treatment. But records indicate he struggled to stop accessing pornography and had several probation violations, resulting in another three years of supervision.

Steenerson initially faced 46 charges before reaching the plea agreement that allowed him to seek a below-guideline sentence.

Public defender J.D. Schmid said his client has a "serious and persistent mental illness" and has accepted responsibility, already beginning the sex offender treatment program at NERCC.

Seven letters of support were also submitted to the court on Steenerson's behalf — writers describing him as "very gullible and easily manipulated" and functioning on the level of a 12-year-old.

"The psychosexual evaluation and the psychological evaluation both reflect that Mr. Steenerson is uniquely motivated to address the underlying causes of his offending behavior in treatment," Schmid said. "The psychological evaluation notes that it is rare to see a defendant who so much wants to change."

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