Suspect Facing Child Sex Charges Is On The Run

Mariposa County, CA — A Fresno man wanted on child sex crimes skipped his court hearing and was last seen heading out of town on a motorcycle, possibly heading to the Mother Lode.

Mariposa County Sheriff’s officials report that 54-year-old Steven Carl Schapansky was reported as a missing person in Fresno on Wednesday (9/11). Currently, he is facing two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and 70 misdemeanor counts of electronic peeping in Santa Barbara County. These charges stem from his time working as a teacher at a Santa Barbara charter school.

Sheriff’s officials report that Schapansky did not show up for a court date in Santa Barbara County on Friday (9/13).  The judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

“Schapansky was last seen in Fresno during the afternoon of September 11th.  He was riding a 2021 blue Honda Monkey motorcycle.  It has a California license plate of 25H7377.  It is possible he headed toward Yosemite National Park,” relayed sheriff’s officials.

Investigators give this description of Schapansky. He is 6’2”, 210 pounds, with blue eyes and blonde hair.  He was last seen wearing a blue polo shirt, blue shorts, and white shoes. Schapansky is from Santa Barbara but had recently been staying in Fresno, according to sheriff’s officials.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts or who may come in contact with Schapansky is asked to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office at (559) 600-3111 or Crime Stoppers at (559) 498-7867 or www.valleycrimestoppers.org and reference case # 24-10472 with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. All tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.