‘Candy Man Sam’ Charged in Minnesota Child Porn Case

Dec 15

An Inver Grove Heights man has been charged with multiple felonies after allegedly producing child sexual abuse material and coercing multiple minor victims.

The announcement was made this week by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, who said the man was an avid Discord user and sold “services” to other adult customers he met through the online communication platform.

45-year-old Samuel Eric Snell, who used the aliases “Storm Blackwood” and “Candy Man Sam MN,” allegedly sold companionship of minors to adults in exchange for monetary gifts and would solicit illegal images from other chat-users, typically minors who were grappling with gender identity and mental health concerns.

Messages found on Snell’s Discord account revealed that he’d previously sent victims electronic sex toys that he could control remotely, then would solicit images of them using those devices.

On at least two occasions, Snell allegedly took a minor victim to a hotel and paid them to engage in sexual intercourse.

He is charged with six counts of production of child pornography and two counts of coercing a minor to engage in prostitution. The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, with assistance from the Inver Grove Heights and Woodbury police departments.

Investigators believe there may be other victims relevant to this investigation. If you or your minor dependent(s) have been in contact with Samuel Eric Snell, please contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

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