A 28-year-old man who worked as a paraprofessional aide at a nonprofit school in El Dorado County is now sitting in county jail without bail, accused of possessing child sexual abuse material. Stefan Schiopu was arrested on October 1 on suspicion of possessing abuse material depicting children, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, and he is now facing multiple felony charges.
The case against Schiopu began with a tip, not a chance discovery. As first reported by CBS News Sacramento, detectives with the Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force opened their investigation after receiving information from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That inquiry ultimately identified Schiopu as the suspect, as well as his employment with the school, according to the outlet's reporting.
On October 1, detectives served multiple search warrants as part of the investigation, per the same account. During that process, they found evidence suggesting there may be an additional, unidentified minor victim connected to the case — a detail that remains unresolved and unidentified according to what has been reported so far.
Task Force Covers Dozens of Counties
The Sacramento Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is the regional arm of a statewide network built to chase down internet-based crimes against kids. According to the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, its mandate covers online child enticement, child exploitation, possession or distribution of child sexual abuse material, and sexually explicit online conversations with minors. The task force's jurisdiction stretches across 30 counties in the region, including El Dorado County, the same group notes.
El Dorado County Sheriff's Office officials are asking anyone with information about Schiopu or the broader investigation to contact the agency's High-Tech Crimes Unit, the CBS Sacramento report states. No booking number, court case information, or arraignment date has been made public in connection with the arrest.
Increases in Some Reported Categories
NCMEC's CyberTipline data reports increases in specific categories of online exploitation cases nationwide. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline received 1.4 million reports concerning online enticement in 2025 alone, including more than 80,000 involving sextortion, according to NCMEC's own data. Reports tied to child sex trafficking jumped 323 percent from 2024 to 2025, the organization reports, while tips from electronic service providers last year contained 61.8 million images, videos and other files tied to child sexual exploitation incidents.
NCMEC also flagged a newer threat vector in its 2025 figures: more than 400,000 reports involved some connection to generative artificial intelligence, including over 182,000 involving offenders accused of possessing, generating or attempting to generate AI-produced abuse material, the organization says. Of all the tips that came in last year, NCMEC says it identified and escalated more than 53,000 as urgent or involving a child believed to be in imminent danger. None of that national data has been tied to the specifics of the Schiopu case.
For now, the central facts remain what the sheriff's office and investigators have confirmed: an employee of a nonprofit school is behind bars on multiple felony counts, and detectives are still working to run down leads on a possible second victim. Anyone with information has been directed to reach out to the High-Tech Crimes Unit as the investigation continues.
