An Eagle River man, Michael Koetter, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to multiple child exploitation offenses. The sentencing took place in Anchorage, Alaska.
Court documents state that on September 25, 2023, Koetter, age 30, contacted a commercial sex worker in Alaska and inquired about finding girls under the age of 12 for sexual acts or explicit images. The sex worker reported the conversation to law enforcement authorities.
The FBI conducted a search of Koetter’s person, vehicle, and residence. Investigators found several digital devices containing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) and conversations related to child sexual abuse. Among the evidence was a thumb drive with approximately 72 subfolders containing over 1,400 files depicting child sexual abuse involving pre-pubescent minors, including toddlers.
Additionally, the thumb drive held two text files. One file labeled “Manifesto.txt” included statements where Koetter described himself as a “hardcore child rapist” and outlined his intent “to rape and molest as many children as [he] can before [he] die[s].”
The investigation revealed that Koetter had previously been convicted of possessing child pornography in Indiana in 2019 before relocating to Alaska.
Koetter pleaded guilty to one count each of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt and distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
“Mr. Koetter is a recidivist sex offender who made the mistake of moving to Alaska and seeking another child to exploit. Now, he will spend the next 20 years behind bars and the rest of his life on supervised release,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “I want to thank the witness who came forward to report Mr. Koetter’s perversity, as that report and the hard work of our law enforcement partners has prevented the defendant from harming another child for the next 20 years.”
“Koetter, a repeat sex offender, committed disturbing child exploitation crimes across jurisdictions, and with a broader plan to continue sexually exploiting and traumatizing as many young children as he could,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Brandon Waddle of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “This investigation and sentencing represent the FBI’s commitment to ensuring sadistic child predators like Koetter are held accountable and removed from our communities. Our children are undeniably safer with him behind bars.”
The case was investigated by the FBI Anchorage Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with support from the Anchorage Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Alexander and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey prosecuted this case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to address online child sexual exploitation by coordinating federal, state, and local resources for locating offenders and rescuing victims. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/psc.