A Lakewood man was sentenced on April 16 to 26 years in prison after pleading guilty to producing child pornography and running a server dedicated to trafficking in child sexual abuse materials. Gareth S. Schakel, age 34, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese following his January plea.
The case underscores ongoing efforts by federal authorities to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse online. Schakel was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release and pay $52,000 in restitution to victims.
According to court documents, Schakel produced illegal content on a server he operated from his home in Lakewood during 2023. He created an invite-only platform where explicit material was shared with other offenders. In April of that year, investigators found hundreds of files depicting the sexual abuse of infants, toddlers, prepubescent children, as well as acts involving torture and bestiality when they searched his electronic devices. Authorities also identified a 15-year-old victim whom Schakel had sexually exploited by persuading her to send him graphic images and sending her explicit photos of himself.
Schakel had prior convictions for pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor in 2011 and for failing to register as a sex offender at the state level. The investigation was led by the FBI Cleveland Division and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority; prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. King for the Northern District of Ohio.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, which brings together federal, state, and local resources nationwide to identify offenders who exploit children via the internet and rescue victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at justice.gov/PSC.
The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio promotes community safety through outreach programs across northern Ohio according to its official website. The office is responsible for enforcing federal criminal laws related to national security, public corruption, civil rights violations, defending civil suits against the United States government, protecting public funds through community engagement initiatives such as collaborating with schools and law enforcement agencies according to its official website, while maintaining offices in Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Youngstown according to its official website.
