A man was arrested in Duchesne County this week after a federal search warrant was executed on his Duchesne County residence. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, on June 16, agents with the FBI requested assistance executing a federal search warrant on the residence of Russell Steinke regarding information Russell had sent and received of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on the dark web. Russell is currently on the sex offender registry for a felony conviction of sexual exploitation of a child while he was living in Wyoming. Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office assisted and upon execution of the warrant, several electronic items were seized including a cellphone in Russell’s possession. During an extraction and search of the devices on Russell’s cellphone, social media apps were located that are used to send and receive explicit images including Child Sexual Abuse Material. Officers were able to pull Russell’s sex offender registry file, and in the file, there were no social media sites, emails, or cellphone numbers listed. After being taken into custody, Russell was interviewed by FBI agents at the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office. During the interview, Russell admitted to possessing CSAM as of three days prior. FBI agents informed Duchesne County officers that federal charges are pending and should be filed within the next week. 50-year-old Russell Dean Steinke was booked into the Duchesne County Jail, and is being charged with 13 counts of providing false or incomplete information on his sex offender registry.
