Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson told the Journal Sentinel her office had reviewed possible charges against two Racine Police Department officers and two Racine County Sheriff's Office deputies, with two of those reviews ongoing and two closed with her not issuing charges. The reviews stem from allegations of misuse of the license plate tracking system known as Flock, whichhas drawn criticism from activists and residents in some Wisconsin cities.
Hanson provided records that offer some detail on the two she elected not to issue charges against.
In one case, a Racine County Sheriff's Office investigator believed his partner "feared immediate harm from her ex-husband," and he used a Flock database to search for the ex-husband. Then he provided the Flock reports to another law enforcement agency in another jurisdiction.
She also wrote it was not unreasonable the investigator would access the Flock database for an investigation into criminal conduct for another jurisdiction.
"I cannot see that he used the information to harass or intimidate the subject of the searches," Hanson wrote.
That investigation was not initiated by a police referral, as is typical in prosecutor reviews of potential criminal charges. Instead, it came from what's known as a John Doe investigation, which can be requested by a member of the public as a way to investigate possible criminal charges.
The John Doe case was filed in March and led Walworth County Judge Kristine Drettwan to order Hanson's office to review potential charges April 13. Hanson declined charges June 1. The case remains open, according to online court records.
Hanson also declined to press charges against a police officer who accessed Flock five times to track his own vehicle, according to a disposition note. There were problems between the officer and a co-owner over payment for the vehicle and, on one occasion, it had been towed while the co-owner had used it.
Hanson, who received the referral in June, said the matter was best handled internally by Racine police and did not reach the level of a crime, because of the limited number of uses and because it was on his own vehicle.
"The co-owner was aware of the FLOCK use and is not afraid of [the officer]," Hanson's document reads.
The Journal Sentinel is not naming either officer, because they were not charged with a crime.
Those details come a week afterRacine police confirmedtwo members were under investigation for allegations of misuse of Flock. A spokesperson for the department previously declined to say whether any other officers had previously been reviewed for misuse. The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a question clarifying if the officer Hanson declined to issue charges against is one of the two active investigations.
Lt. Michael Luell said July 21 it had internally disciplined the investigator from the incident that Hanson declined to issue charges against. He said the sheriff's office member Hanson is reviewing was investigated by an outside agency, before the criminal referral.
Elsewhere in Wisconsin, including Milwaukee, police have faced discipline for misusing Flock. In some cases, criminal charges have been filed.
In Milwaukee, prosecutors have charged two police officers after investigations into potential misuse. In one case, a former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced to 12 months of probation and a $500 fine after he tracked an ex-girlfriend and her partner.
More recently, a detective tasked with investigating officer misconduct was charged with a felony after investigators alleged he improperly used the system, GPS tracked the vehicle of someone and accessed case files related to the person. That detective,Tehrangi Chapman, had investigated the former police officer who later pleaded guilty to misusing the system, authorities said in a court document.
Officers' misuse of Flock, or allegations of it, have occurred in Menasha as well.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@usatoday.com.
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.
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.
RACINE — A 29-year-old Caledonia man was sentenced three years of incarceration Tuesday in connection to child pornography possession charges.
Nicholas Wotnoske, a former school janitor, was charged in July 2024 with six counts of sexual exploitation of a child and 15 counts of possession of child pornography.
He was found guilty of three counts of child pornography possession in February, and the remaining counts were dismissed but read in to the court record.
Wotnoske also was ordered to serve three years of extended supervision, and the court imposed a $500 surcharge for each of 21 images, according to online court records.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, the Racine County Sheriff’s Office announced Wotnoske’s arrest July 8, 2024, identifying him as a second-shift janitor in the Racine Unified School District.
Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Michael Luell said investigators did not believe any RUSD students or other local children were alleged victims in the case, and that the accusations against Wotnoske were unrelated to his employment.
RUSD spokeswoman Stacy Tapp said in July 2024 that the school district had placed Wotnoske on unpaid administrative leave.
The district hired Wotnoske as a building engineer in 2021, and Tapp said there had been no complaints about him.
“We were extremely concerned to learn of these charges,” she said.
According to RCSO, the Internet Crimes Against Children unit intercepted photos and video of child pornography “in relation to” a residence in Caledonia.
Investigators reportedly found about 44,000 illegal images in Wotnoske’s possession and RCSO said he allegedly admitted to possessing child pornography.
RACINE — A 19-year-old Racine man was sentenced to five years prison Friday in connection to allegations of possessing child pornography.
Ernesto Roman was charged with six counts of possession of child pornography in April 2025. After pleading not guilty to all counts in May 2025, Roman pleaded guilty to three of the counts in January. The remaining three counts were dismissed but read into the court record.
Roman also was ordered to serve four years of extended supervision, and the the court imposed a $500 surcharge on each of the three counts.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, Roman was arrested after the Racine County Sheriff’s Office received two cyber tips from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
According to a criminal complaint, both tips contained child pornography and were generated by WhatsApp.
Information obtained through a warrant to WhatsApp reportedly indicated that Roman was the account owner and revealed six videos containing child pornography.
RCSO investigators searched Roman’s home April 14, 2025.
During questioning, he allegedly provided information connecting him to the cyber tips and the account.
Wait was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of election fraud and one felony count of identity theft.
Journal Times file photo
RACINE — A jury on Tuesday night found Harry Wait guilty on three of four charges in his election fraud case following a two-day trial and more than three hours of deliberation.
The 71-year-old faced two felony counts of misappropriating identifying information — obtain money and two misdemeanor counts of election fraud — fraud/absentee ballot.
Wait was found not guilty of one count of misappropriating identifying information.
Case history
On July 26, 2022, Wait was at the Racine County Fair when he ordered absentee ballots for Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Racine Mayor Cory Mason be sent to his residence in Union Grove.
While ordering the ballots, Wait was on camera for HOT Government, a watchdog group whose name is an acronym for honest, open and transparent. In 2022, Wait was the group’s president.
Later, Wait sent an email to several public officials saying he ordered the ballots to prove that harvesting ballots can be done. In the email, he said if the ballots were mailed to his residence, he would return them.
Mason’s ballot arrived at Wait’s residence, and Wait posted a photo of himself holding it.
After unsuccessfully trying to return the ballot to the City Clerk’s Office, Wait ultimately returned the ballot to the Racine County Sheriff's Office.
Since then, the case has garnered state and national attention.
Trial
Dozens of supporters of Wait and HOT Government filled the courtroom gallery in downtown Racine on Monday and Tuesday, and extended into an overflow courtroom to watch the proceedings via Zoom.
During opening statements Monday afternoon, prosecuting attorney Leigh Neville-Neil said that Wait put the integrity of an election at risk to seek attention.
“He broke the law so he could broadcast it to anyone who would listen to get the attention he was after,” Neville-Neil said.
Defense attorney Joseph Bugni did not contest any of Wait’s alleged actions but argued about the intent behind what Wait did.
“All he wants to do is expose corruption,” Bugni said.
Bugni said that while Wait ordered the ballots, he had no intention of keeping them, destroying them or using them to vote.
Rather, Bugni said Wait's only intent was to prove it could be done and expose the vulnerabilities of elections and MyVote, an online portal used in Wisconsin for registering to vote, requesting ballots and obtaining ballot information.
The state claimed the intent did not absolve Wait of taking responsibility for committing the crimes, saying it is wrong for someone to rob a bank to prove it can be done or to set fire to a house to prove the fire department arrives too slowly.
During his witness testimony, Vos said he was “frustrated” when he found out Wait requested his ballot.
On the stand, Mason said he “was upset someone pretended to be me and take my ballot.”
Vos and Mason said once the respective village and city clerks knew the absentee ballots were fraudulently ordered, both were still able to vote in the 2022 election.
When Wait took the stand Tuesday, he said he “didn’t want to take away their voting rights.”
Wait said he did not want the ballots, which is why he returned Mason’s ballot to the sheriff’s office. The state argued that ordering the ballots without wanting them was illogical.
Wait said he ordered the ballots “for public good, for public benefit because people have to realize their vote is not safe.”
He asserted that he proved his point.
“I could’ve ordered a thousand ballots. I could’ve ordered yours and mailed it to her,” Wait told state prosecutors during cross examination.
The state tried to prove that Wait ordered the ballots to gain attention and fame, especially because he chose the ballots of public figures.
Wait repeatedly admitted to ordering the ballots in Vos’ name and Mason’s name without their consent, but adamantly denied wanting personal fame.
“I brought attention to it because attention had to be brought to it,” Wait said. “It’s not about me.”
When asked by his attorney why he did it, Wait said, “to save a republic.”
Wait’s signature bond was set at $2,500. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 2 at the Walworth County Courthouse.
This article has been updated since originally published to reflect the scheduled sentencing date.
RACINE — A 19-year-old Racine man has pleaded guilty in connection to allegations that he was in possession of videos containing child pornography.
Ernesto Roman was charged with six counts of possession of child pornography in April 2025. After pleading not guilty to all counts in May 2025, Roman pleaded guilty to three of the counts Tuesday. The remaining three counts were dismissed but read into the court record.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, Roman was arrested after the Racine County Sheriff’s Office received two cyber tips from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
According to a criminal complaint, both tips contained child pornography and were generated by WhatsApp.
Information obtained through a warrant to WhatsApp reportedly indicated that Roman was the account owner and revealed six videos containing child pornography.
RCSO investigators searched Roman’s home April 14, 2025.
During questioning, he allegedly provided information connecting him to the cyber tips and the account.
Roman is scheduled for a sentencing hearing March 16.
RACINE — A 50-year-old Racine man was sentenced Tuesday to six years of incarceration in connection to child pornography charges.
Christopher Marzette was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography in September 2024. In October 2025, Marzette was found guilty of three of the counts after a no contest plea. The remaining seven counts were dismissed but read into the court record.
He also was ordered to serve eight years of extended supervision.
According to previous Journal Times reports, Marzette was arrested after the Sheriff’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit traced cyber tips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to an address in the 1400 block of 10th Street.
Investigators searched the residence Sept. 6, 2024, and reportedly found devices with images of child pornography, as well as two email addresses allegedly associated with Marzette and linked to 91 uploads of child pornography.
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.
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."
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.
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