EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – A federal grand jury returned a single-count indictment Thursday against Stefan Luciano Schiopu, 27, of Cool, charging him with one count of sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, on Feb. 22, 2026, Schiopu sexually exploited a minor and created at least one video of that sexual conduct.
The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office (EDSO), the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Harman is prosecuting the case.
On October 1, Schiopu was arrested by EDSO on sexual exploitation charges along with charges of intentional cruelty to animals. He is currently jailed in Placerville. He has a court date on October 20 in El Dorado County. His federal court date has not been announced.
If convicted on the federal charges, Schiopu faces a mandatory minimum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account many variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.