Child molestation in Waukesha County, possession of pornography; teenager charged

WALES, Wis. – A Waukesha County teen is charged with first-degree child sex abuse and 15 counts of possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors have charged the 16-year-old Welsh boy as an adult in the case, and court records show he is being held on a $5,000 cash bond. FOX6 News is not naming him because he is a juvenile.

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The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department received a cyber tip in April. According to a criminal complaint, the tip reported that someone in Wales had uploaded 11 files, suspected child exploitation material, to Snapchat in March. A phone number, date of birth, email address and screen name were associated with the account. Researchers tracked down the IP address used at the time of the uploads.

Prosecutors said the images depicted victims between the ages of 6 months and 12 years old.

The complaint states that information associated with the Snapchat account — specifically the email address — led them to the teen, who was listed as a suspect in a previous child pornography investigation. That case was “officially closed,” according to court records.

In July, the sheriff’s department received a second cyber tip tied to the teen, with four files of suspected child pornography uploaded to a Dropbox account.

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Investigators spoke with the teen. Prosecutors said he told them he had learned about child pornography through online groups, including the Telegram platform, and that he had been involved with these groups for years until now.

During the investigation, the complaint states the teen admitted to a sexual assault involving a 4-year-old child. The teen said he showed the child pornography, and the child then touched the teen inappropriately.