Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
A Lakewood man was sentenced on April 16 to more than 26 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography and operating a server dedicated to trafficking in child sexual abuse materials.
Gareth S. Schakel, age 34, received a sentence of 312 months from U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese. Schakel also faces lifetime supervised release and must pay $52,000 in restitution to victims. He pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to charges including sexual exploitation of children, receipt and distribution of visual depictions involving minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possession of child pornography.
According to court records, Schakel produced illegal content on a server he ran from his home in Lakewood during 2023. The platform was invite-only and used by other individuals seeking explicit material involving children. When agents executed a search warrant that April, they found hundreds of files depicting the abuse of infants and toddlers as well as acts involving torture and bestiality. Investigators also identified a minor victim who had been exploited by Schakel that spring; he enticed the teenager into sending him graphic images while sending her explicit photos of himself.
Schakel has prior convictions related to pandering sexually oriented material involving minors from a state case in 2011, along with offenses for failing to register as a sex offender.
The investigation was led by the FBI Cleveland Division and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. King prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies nationwide.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio promotes community safety and protects residents through outreach efforts across northern Ohio according to its official website. The office serves as chief federal law enforcement agency for its district under the Department of Justice according to its official website, enforcing laws related not only to national security but also public corruption and civil rights according to its official website. It covers forty counties with offices located in Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, and Youngstown according to its official website.
Anyone wishing to report suspected child exploitation can visit cybertipline.org or call 1-800-843-5678 at any time.
