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Press Release

Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Wisconsin

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on October 2, 2017, Gene B. Schneider (age: 52) of Albany, Wisconsin, was sentenced by Chief District Judge William C. Griesbach to 15 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a). Upon his release the defendant will be on federal supervised release for 8 years and will have to register as a sex offender in the jurisdiction in which he resides.    

 

Schneider used his cellular telephone and social media platforms to exchange texts, instant messages, and sexually explicit images with underage girls located across Wisconsin, the United States, and Great Britain. Ultimately, he was arrested after arranging to meet whom he thought was a 13 year-old girl at a hotel in Antigo, Wisconsin. The “girl” was in fact a law enforcement officer with the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office. Schneider then led law enforcement on a high speed chase through Lincoln County and, eventually, crashed his vehicle in Marathon County.

 

In pronouncing sentence, Chief Judge Griesbach noted the serious nature of Schneider’s crime and the need to deter him and others from engaging in sexual communications with minors via the internet. The judge noted the graphic nature of the images Schneider received and sent to teenage girls and the need for substantial punishment. 

           

The case was investigated by the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. 

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For Additional Information Contact:

Public Information Officer Dean Puschnig 414-297-1700

Updated October 3, 2017

Topic
Project Safe Childhood