Sarah Ballman, 50, of East Troy – Obituary
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Showing posts with label Child Sex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Sex. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2026
Saturday, July 25, 2026
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Sturtevant woman arrested on child pornography charges
From The Journal Times.com:
Milana Doné
Milana Doné
RACINE — An 18-year-old Sturtevant woman has been arrested following an investigation of a tip about an individual possessing and advertising child sexual abuse material.
Jocelyn Harris was charged with five counts of possession of child pornography by a person under the age of 18.
Earlier this year, an investigator with the Racine County Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an individual possessing and advertising child sexual abuse material.
The tip included five videos uploaded through Snapchat and a related Twitter post, all which contained child sexual abuse videos.
The Twitter post contained a link to Telegram, a message and file-sharing platform that allows content to be placed behind a paywall. It is frequently used by offenders attempting to avoid law enforcement, according to RCSO.
Harris was identified as a suspect and investigators executed a search warrant at her residence. She was arrested and investigators seized multiple electronic devices.
According to RCSO, Harris admitted to owning and operating the Snapchat and Twitter accounts during an interview and reportedly claimed the material was simply "popping up" on her accounts.
Harris initially appeared in court July 10, where her cash bond was set at $5,000.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 23.
Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Milana Doné
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Saturday, July 4, 2026
Racine man accused of possession of bestiality, child pornography
From The Journal Times.com:
Milana Doné
Milana Doné
RACINE — A 36-year-old Racine man was charged Thursday in connection to obscene electronic material allegedly found in his possession.
Justin Erhardt faces two counts of possession of bestiality and one count of possession of child pornography.
According to the Racine County Sheriff's Office, an investigator with the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that a person in the City of Racine had uploaded child sexual abuse material to a Snapchat account.
The account reportedly contained one video depicting child sexual abuse material and two videos depicting bestiality, according to an RCSO news release.
Investigators contacted Erhardt, who reportedly admitted that the Snapchat account belonged to him, and he was taken into custody Tuesday.
During a search of Erhardt's residence on the 400 block of Haven Avenue, RCSO seized several electronic devices.
Erhardt initially appeared in court Thursday and his cash bond was set at $2,500.
He is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing July 16.
Monday, June 29, 2026
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Friday, June 26, 2026
Clergy Gone Wild: Madison priest stripped of clerical role after child sex crime charges
From JSOnline:
David Clarey
David Clarey
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A Madison Catholic priest was stripped of his clerical duties after allegations of child pornography surfaced against the man in 2025.
The June 24 stripping of Andrew J. Showers’ clerical duties comes after Waupaca County prosecutors charged the 38-year-old man with felonies after they say he he attempted to meet with a 14-year-old girl to have sex with her, but it was actually a police officer. Prosecutors also charged him with possession of child pornography earlier this year.
Showers was also the subject of two other misconduct allegations following his 2025 arrest, one for inappropriate questioning during confession and another allegation of groping a woman.
The Diocese of Madison announced Pope Leo XIV made the decision to remove Showers of his duties after Showers requested the removal himself, according to the Diocese’s June 25 letter. That church process, known as laicization, means he is known longer a member of the church’s clergy.
“I ask for your continued prayers for all those affected and commend everyone involved, including Andrew, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,” said Donald Hying, Bishop of Madison, in a letter to diocese members. “May we find comfort in the Lord’s unfailing love and mercy, remembering that He remains with us in every trial, suffering, and sorrow.”
The charges came after Clintonville Police Department officers arrested Showers on Aug. 24, 2025 after he attempted to meet with an officer posing as a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Then, in March, prosecutors charged Showers with two additional felonies for possession of child pornography. Authorities said they found two pornographic images of girls on a messaging app on Showers’ phone.
The Diocese of Madison had previously announced Showers’s first arrest Aug. 25, 2025, and restricted him from ministry during the investigation. In that announcement, it erroneously said the church had not received any prior allegations of misconduct conduct against Showers.
However, two days later, the Diocese of Madison said Showers was the subject of a previous complaint in December 2021. The Journal Sentinel previously reported that complaint came from a parent who reported his son was asked about watching pornography and masturbating during confession at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Lodi, according to a police record.
The Lodi Police Department investigated the complaint and determined it was not criminal. The father also said he reported it to the church, who said Showers’ actions were within his role as a priest.
More allegations surfaced against Showers in Sept. 2025. A woman said she was groped by the man during a social event, where he introduced himself as a priest and gave her his business card.
Showers had been set to lead a small group trip to Rome and Siena at the time of the allegations, according to since-deleted social media posts.
Showers had the following assignments, according to the diocese:
- Director of diocesan office of worship, 2024 to present.
- Parochial vicar for a grouping known as Pastorate 22 or Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which collectively includes two churches, St. Raphael and Good Shepherd, and one school, St. James, all in Madison, 2023 to present.
- Priest in residence at All Saints in Berlin and Our Lady of the Lake in Green Lake, 2022 to 2023.
- Provided Spanish Mass assistance at St. John the Baptist in Waunakee, 2022.
- Pastor of St. Stephen in Clinton, 2020 to 2022.
- Parochial vicar for St. Paul's Catholic Student Center, which serves UW-Madison students, 2018 to 2020.
- Parochial vicar of St. Cecilia in Wisconsin Dells, summer of 2017.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Clergy Gone Wild: Former Northwoods priest convicted of abuse to go before parole board
From JSOnline:
Laura Schulte
Laura Schulte
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MADISON - A former Northwoods priest convicted of sexually assaulting young boys in the 1980s has a parole hearing set for July.
According to a source familiar with the case, Thomas Ericksen will go before the parole board on July 22.
Ericksen is eligible for parole on Sept. 11, according to Wisconsin's inmate locator. His mandatory release date is set for Dec. 5, 2032.
He was formerly denied parole in 2022.
Ericksen, 75, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2019 on two charges of sexually assaulting boys while stationed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Winter in the 1980s. He is also registered as a sex offender for life.
He was given 20 years on one charge and 10 years on the other. He was credited with 314 days of time served in jail since his arrest, both in Minnesota before he was extradited and in Wisconsin. He is currently being held in the Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls.
The sentence was described as an "indeterminate" prison term, meaning the judge didn't have control over how long Ericksen would actually serve before he's paroled. He was eligible for parole as early as December 2019, just three months after he was sentenced. He was also eligible in 2020 but waived his opportunity to go before the Parole Commission.
At least 11 men claimed that the former priest abused them as children or teens in multiple counties across the Northwoods of Wisconsin, either by filing reports with police or speaking with USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporters. The former priest was arrested in November 2018, nearly a decade after victims first began sharing their stories with Sawyer County investigators.
Parole consideration is given only for inmates who committed a crime before Dec. 31, 1999. That was before Wisconsin enacted what's known as a "truth in sentencing" law, which means inmates generally must serve the entire sentence given to them by the court, with some exceptions for early release.
Because Ericksen committed the crimes before that law passed, his prison term is up to the Parole Commission based on his behavior while incarcerated.
Generally, inmates serving indeterminate sentences must serve at least a quarter of their sentence and must be released after two-thirds of their sentence. Using that framework, Ericksen would be required to serve at least 7.5 years in prison and would be released after 20 years.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X @SchulteLaura.
Mount Pleasant man sentenced in child sexual abuse case
From The Journal Times.com:
Milana Doné
Milana Doné
RACINE — A 39-year-old Mount Pleasant man was sentenced Friday to 15 years in prison in connection to child sexual abuse allegations.
Matthew Wefler had been charged with one count of repeated sexual assault of the same child, one count of incest with a child, seven counts of child sexual exploitation and three counts of causing a child under 13 to view/listen to sexual activity.
At Friday's hearing, Wefler pleaded guilty to repeated sexual assault of the same child, incest with a child and two of the child sexual exploitation counts.supervisi
The remaining counts were dismissed but read in to the court record.
He originally entered a not guilty plea to all counts last November.
Wefler also was ordered to serve 10 years of extended supervision.
According to a criminal complaint, the FBI notified the Racine County Sheriff’s Office on June 24, 2025, about an investigation regarding the distribution of child sexual abuse material and a child sexual assault involving Wefler.
The FBI reportedly found “hundreds of pages” of chat messages in which Wefler and a man in Texas exchanged and discussed sexual content involving young children and Wefler’s dog.
Recent stories by Racine Journal Times reporter Milana Doné
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Friday, June 5, 2026
Teachers Gone Wild: Florida teacher tied to Milwaukee-area Catholic schools faces federal charges
From JSOnline:
Kayla Huynh
Kayla Huynh
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A former Milwaukee teacher and coach is facing two federal charges related to child sexual abuse images, according to court documents filed in Florida district court.
Authorities say Patrick Conor Russell, a 37-year-old teacher in south Florida, told federal agents he has never touched a child inappropriately but said he engaged in inappropriate conversations about children, some of which were sexual in nature, and requested images and videos of minors. He told agents he has been "battling" this for a while, the complaint said.
The FBI arrested Russell on federal charges involving the receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material.
The complaint, filed May 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, said Russell told another user on a private messaging app that he was a teacher and coach and wanted to find someone who could “bait” the students at his school into sending nude pictures.
Russell appeared to have sent the user images of students at his school and made sexually explicit comments about them, according to the complaint.
Before relocating to Florida, Russell worked in multiple educational and athletic positions within Milwaukee-area Catholic schools. The schools include Marquette University High School and Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, as well as Carmen Southeast High School, a public charter school, according to the advocacy group Nate's Mission.
In a statement, a Marquette High School spokesperson said Russell was a former assistant football and lacrosse coach from 2018 to 2024.
"Based on the information currently available, the reported charges relate to his time in Florida," the spokesperson said. "The charges do not indicate misconduct involving MUHS students, and we have not received any reports or allegations involving Mr. Russell during his time as assistant coach."
"We have also contacted the former students and families of teams that he coached," the spokesperson said. "The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority, and we encourage anyone who may have more information or concerns to report them and contact law enforcement."
In a news release, Nate's Mission, an advocacy group aiming to end clergy abuse in Wisconsin, urged state authorities to investigate Russell's work in the Milwaukee area.
"Wisconsin law does not require religious institutions to report suspected child abuse or related misconduct in the same manner as many other organizations serving children, creating significant gaps in accountability and oversight," the group said. "As a result, there is no assurance that allegations, concerns, or potential crimes would have been reported to law enforcement or disclosed when employees moved between institutions."
Caroline Clancy, a public affairs officer for the FBI's Milwaukee office, said the case is being handled in the Southern District of Florida and referred questions there.
Nate's Mission also referenced a series of sexual abuse cases within the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and past attempts to cover up misconduct. The group said law enforcement should independently review any serious allegations involving Catholic clergy or educators to determine whether earlier warning signs or victims may be connected to the case.
Russell is scheduled to appear in federal court June 12 for a preliminary hearing or arraignment, according to online court records.
Kayla Huynh covers K-12 education, teachers and solutions for the Journal Sentinel. Contact: khuynh@gannett.com. Follow her on X: @_kaylahuynh.
Kayla Huynh's reporting is supported by Herb Kohl Philanthropies and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
Saturday, May 23, 2026
Friday, May 22, 2026
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Monday, May 18, 2026
Friday, May 15, 2026
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