A former Minneapolis police officer was recently sentenced to one year in a work release program for soliciting underage girls. Bradley Schnickel, 33, pled guilty to two counts of soliciting children to engage in sex, and will now spend time in the Hennepin County Adult Corrections Facility, while also undergoing therapy for his sex addiction.
Officials say that Schnickel used the social networking site Facebook to create a profile under a couple of aliases. He then contacted two girls and eventually sent them sexually explicit photographs of himself. The two girls in question were ages 11 and 14.
The man is facing similar charges in Anoka County. He’ll stand trial there in February on 18 counts, which may include actual sexual contact with a 15-year old girl. In fact, the Anoka County allegations were what led to the eventual uncovering of his acts in Hennepin County. After charges were filed there, the Minneapolis Police Department first suspended Schnickel before firing him on February 9.
In addressing the court, Schnickel claims that he deeply regrets his actions. He also remarked that “the fact that I robbed these girls of their innocence weighs heavily on me.” Judge Jenny Walker told the man that “you have a lot of work to do…how you got yourself into this, I’m sure you ask yourself every day.”
If convicted on his Anoka County charges, Schnickel faces significant jail time in addition to the sentence he is already serving. Those who are facing similar charges would do well to seek advice from a Minneapolis criminal defense attorney. Contact us to find out more.