Wasilla man pleads guilty, sentenced in possession of child sex abuse material

A Wasilla man was sentenced for a single count of possession of child sexual abuse material Nov. 13 with a sentence of seven years to serve with five years suspended, and a 15-year SOR registration requirement.

The sentencing is part of a plea deal entered by law enforcement and Steven Manasco, age 39 of Wasilla, who was arrested in December, 2024 after Task Force Dawnbreaker, conducted a proactive search for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and related crimes, and found him to be downloading and sharing hundreds of CSAM files.

The investigation determined that the user, laser identified as Manasco, was contacted in December 2024 by Task Force members and numerous CSAM files were found at his residence. Manasco was arrested without incident on five counts of possession of child pornography and later remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial facility on no bail.

Task Force Dawnbreaker is a joint online child exploitation unit in Alaska affiliated with the National Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) network and is comprised of investigators from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation Technical Crime Unit (ABI TCU) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It is responsible for both proactive and reactive investigations into child abuse and exploitation cases across Alaska.

The task force frequently works with other agencies, including the FBI, the U.S. Air Force Office of Investigations, the United States Space Force, and local police departments, on various investigations. Recent operations have resulted in numerous arrests and indictments of individuals on charges including possession and distribution of CSAM, and sexual abuse of a minor.

This is the latest arrest from Task Force Dawnbreaker. Last month a Sutton man was arrested and charged with two counts of Distribution of CSAM, and two counts of Possession of CSAM, after members of Task Force Dawnbreaker initiated an investigation in into an Alaska man suspected of soliciting another individual for sexually explicit images and sexual contact involving the individual’s 11-year-old daughter, according to an online dispatch.