Oconto County, WI

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Oconto County, Wisconsin has a population of approximately 39,000, and abuts the Green Bay area of Lake Michigan. Its county seat is Oconto, and it is part of the Green Bay, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the county, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies. Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, in July 2016, a Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children task force made 87 arrests of suspected child predators during “Operation Broken Heart,” which took place in April and May. The Oconto County Sheriff’s Office was among the dozens of Wisconsin law enforcement agencies who are members of Wisconsin’s ICAC Task Force participated in Operation Broken Heart. Nationally, the operation resulted in 1,368 arrests and the task forces conducted about 2,300 presentations, according to a news release issued by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The  crackdown targeted offenders who: (1) possess, manufacture, and distribute child pornography; (2) engage in online enticement of children for sexual purposes; (3) engage in the commercial sexual exploitation of children (commonly referred to as child prostitution), and (4) engage in child sex tourism (traveling abroad for the purpose of sexually abusing foreign children). As part of Operation Broken Heart, the Wisconsin ICAC Task Force engaged in Operation New Hope, a one-week enforcement effort that included participation from over 40 Wisconsin agencies.

In June 2018, a 24-year-old Oconto County man was arrested on a charge of Child Enticement after an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation.  The Oconto County Sheriff’s Office was tipped off that the man had been communicating with a 16-year-old girl and that some of the messages were sexual in nature. Investigators went undercover and posed as the 16-year-old girl. They received sexually explicit messages from the man, who agreed to meet with the 16-year-old in the Township of Little Suamico. He was met by Oconto County deputies, arrested, and booked into jail on a charge of Child Enticement. Investigators said that additional charges could be forthcoming from the District Attorney’s Office. The suspect’s name was not released. The Oconto County Sheriff’s Office is an affiliate of the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Key Partners

  • Oconto County Sheriff’s Office
  • Oconto Falls Police Department
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation
  • Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
  • Wisconsin State Patrol
State Wisconsin
Type County
Population 39356
Location
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