Overseas Sex Trafficking Lands Prison For West Allis Man: DOJ

WEST ALLIS, WI — A man from West Allis was sentenced to ten years in federal prison on Friday after federal prosecutors said he repeatedly engaged in sexual activity with minors overseas since 2007.

Donald A. Stenson, 67, was also ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution and can expect 10 years of supervised release when he is released from prison, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Haanstad for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Stenson went to the Philippines, a massive nation on the other side of the globe comprised of thousands of islands, on multiple trips starting in 2007 to engage minors in sexual activity, according to prosecutors. Between 2016 and 2019, prosecutors said Stenson lured five minors aged 11-17 into commercial sex arrangements. He would engage in sexual activity with them and then provided money and gifts, the U.S. Attorney news release said.

Investigators found several images and videos of the minor victims on Stenson's electronic devices and sexually explicit messages with minors, the news release said. Stenson was identified after a CyberTipline report came in from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, prosecutors said.

Police also arrested 66-year-old John Burgdorff when they arrested Stenson in West Allis, prosecutors said. Investigators had uncovered messages between the two where Stenson encouraged victims to meet with Burgdorff before he also engaged them in commercial sexual activity, a news release said. Burgdorff was charged as a co-defendant in the case and in November 2022 he was sentenced to over two years in prison, prosecutors said.

The Philippine Authorities helped to investigate the case alongside U.S. and international crime agencies. The case came as part of Project Safe Childhood, which was launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation.

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