Saturday, January 10, 2026
Mt. Pleasant man pleads guilty to child pornography, exploitation charges
Milana Doné
RACINE — A 24-year-old Mount Pleasant man entered a guilty plea Friday in connection to child pornography charges.
Zachary Herzog faced 13 counts of possession of child pornography and 29 counts of sexual exploitation of a child — produce, perform, etc.
He pleaded guilty to three child pornography possession counts and three sexual exploitation counts. The remaining charges were dismissed but read into the court record.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, the Racine County Sheriff's Office began an investigation in May 2025 into a Kik account associated with one of Herzog's email addresses.
RCSO traced the IP address to a home in the 900 block of Langdon Court.
Investigators searched several Kik accounts associated with Herzog's email addresses and reportedly found multiple images and videos of alleged child pornography and evidence that the account holder shared the material with others.
RCSO searched Herzog's residence June 2, 2025, and reportedly found 13 videos containing child pornography associated with the Kik accounts and that child pornography had been distributed 32 times over Kik, according to the complaint.
Herzog is scheduled for a sentencing hearing March 17.
Union Grove man facing federal charges in connection to alleged sex trafficking
Milana Doné
UNION GROVE — A 35-year-old Union Grove man was charged Tuesday in connection to federal allegations of sex trafficking.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney Eastern District of Wisconsin, Hector Duarte was charged one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and one count of interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution.
If convicted, Duarte faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and up to life imprisonment for sex trafficking and up to 10 years in prison for interstate transportation.
Duarte is accused of using force, threats of force and fraud to cause an adult to engage in commercial sex acts during June 2025 in eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.
The case was investigated by the FBI's Milwaukee Field Office and the Cudahy Police Department.
Schmaling not seeking reelection as Racine County sheriff
Holly Gilvary
RACINE COUNTY — After serving for 16 years as Racine County sheriff, Christopher Schmaling announced Friday that he will not seek reelection in 2026.
Schmaling, who joined the Racine County Sheriff's Office as a deputy in 1995, officially will retire at the end of this year, he said in the announcement.
Schmaling
Schmaling said he is "deeply committed to completing my last term with the same vigor, ambition and commitment to public safety that I started my career with in 1995."
Schmaling is the longest-serving sheriff in the county's history, according to RCSO, and also was the county's youngest sheriff.
He said RCSO is "stronger, more professional and better prepared now more than ever to meet the challenges ahead."
"I am confident that the Sheriff's Office will remain fully committed to integrity, service and the safety of our community far into the future," Schmaling said. "The brave and selfless men and women of the Racine County Sheriff's Office represent the finest qualities that make the Racine County Sheriff's Office a premier law enforcement agency."
Friday, January 9, 2026
Thursday, January 8, 2026
Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Racine man sentenced to prison on child pornography charges
Milana Doné
RACINE — A 25-year-old Racine man was sentenced to nine years in prison Tuesday after child pornography reportedly was found on his cell phone.
Dakota Newburg was charged with 12 counts of possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to four counts. The remaining eight counts were dismissed but read into the court record.
Newburg also was ordered to serve nine years of extended supervision.
The court imposed a $500 surcharge for each image or each copy of an image associated with the crime, which totaled $6,000.
Allegations
According to a criminal complaint, the Racine County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at a residence in the 700 block of Willmor Street on June 3, 2025, after receiving a cyber tip.
During the search, Newburg allegedly told RCSO that the email address associated with the tips belonged to him and that he had at least one video on his cell phone that would be considered child pornography.
A forensic examination of Newburg’s phone reportedly showed “cartoonish” AI-generated pornography depicting children being sexually assaulted by adults.
Monday, January 5, 2026
Foxconn paid $15 million to Mount Pleasant as 'makeup payment' in 2025
Ricardo Torres
Foxconn Technology Group has paid nearly $30 million in "makeup payments" to the village of Mount Pleasant during the last two years.
This comes after the Taiwan-based company fell far short of 2017 promises of a massive tech development and hiring surge in the Racine County village.
Thanks to huge data center projects, Microsoft is now set to surpass Foxconn as the largest Racine County taxpayer.
According to the contract signed by Foxconn and local municipalities in 2017, Foxconn agreed to a minimum guaranteed value of $1.4 billion on its property in 2023. If the property is not worth $1.4 billion the company needs to pay a “makeup payment” of the difference between the assessed value and the minimum guaranteed value.
According to Mount Pleasant officials, Foxconn paid the village about $15 million in 2025 as part of the makeup payment for not having the minimum guaranteed value in 2024.
In a statement Foxconn said:
"Foxconn supports expansion of technology and innovation in Wisconsin. We continue to invest in the state and faithfully carry out our financial obligations with local governments."
The money went to paying for investment upgrades for tax incremental district, the area that includes the Foxconn development.
The agreement also states Foxconn must maintain the minimum guaranteed value of $1.4 billion through Dec. 31, 2047 or otherwise make more payments.
In 2024, the company paid $14.3 million to the village to make up for assessments in 2023, according to village officials.
Microsoft's data center will make it Racine County's top taxpayer
Ricardo Torres
For the last several years, the Foxconn Technology Group has been the largest taxpayer in Racine County. But in 2026 it will be dethroned when Microsoft pays property taxes for massive data centers being developed nearby.
Based on Microsoft’s assessed property value from Racine County, the company's facilities in Mount Pleasant are worth about $1.224 billion, which means its tax bill is $19.75 million.
Microsoft is in the process of building a second data center in Mount Pleasant and has committed to spend roughly $7.3 billion on its development in Racine County.
In 2026, Microsoft's property value will increase as construction continues. The company is also searching for another location, possibly in Racine County, for another data center.
In a statement, a Microsoft spokesperson said: "We believe our data center operations serve as an economic and innovation driver for the region, and we look forward to our continued partnership with the community of southeast Wisconsin to build out that vision."
Across the road, a facility developed and owned by Taiwan-based Foxconn is valued at $514 million with a tax bill of $8.3 million. That's a fraction of the initial investment promised by the tech company when it announced Racine County development plans several years ago.
Foxconn had been the largest taxpayer in the county since 2020 when it paid $5 million on its property assessed at $260 million at the time.
In 2025 Foxconn announced it was planning to add more than 1,300 jobs at its facilities in Mount Pleasant and could get $16 million from Wisconsin taxpayers, according to an agreement with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.
With that expansion, Foxconn could receive up to $96 million in state tax credits through 2029.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Daykin contributed to this report.
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