An Inver Grove Heights man was charged with sexually exploiting children by soliciting illicit images of minors and, in at least two instances, paying minors for sex acts at a hotel, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday.

Samuel Eric Snell, 45, was charged with six counts of production of child pornography and two counts of coercing a minor to engage in prostitution. Snell made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Thursday before Magistrate Judge Dulce J. Foster.

He was indicted after an FBI Investigation with help from the Inver Grove Heights and Woodbury police departments.

Snell, who has several nicknames including “Storm Blackwood” and “Candy Man Sam MN,” was a member of an online community on the gaming platform Discord that sold “services” to adult customers, court records show.

On several Discord channels (with names such as Fun Time Kitty Club, Pretty Kitty Hangout, Safe Kitten Connection, and Kitten Servicer Name), minor girls, referred to as “kittens,” sold “online companionship to adults,” referred to as “masters,” according to court records. Payment was usually made through CashApp or gifts.

Snell used those channels to solicit illicit images, many from children who “self-identified as minors and indicated that they were grappling with gender identity, sexuality, and mental health concerns,” court documents say.

Prosecutors say he followed the same script to request sexually explicit photos and that in several instances he was doing so with the intent to groom them to eventually produce “child sexual abuse material.”

On at least two occasions, prosecutors say, he took a minor to a hotel, paid them $100 to engage in sexual intercourse, and provided emergency contraception afterward.

Investigators believe there may be other victims relevant to this investigation. They ask any caregivers who have minors who may have been in contact with Samuel Eric Snell to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Snell’s detention hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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