Area law enforcement agencies in the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force include:
-- Edgerton Police Department
-- Janesville Police Department
-- Jefferson Police Department
-- Lake Geneva Police Department
-- Lake Mills Police Department
-- Milton Police Department
-- Whitewater Police Department
JANESVILLE — Law enforcement agencies defend their use of time and money to catch online sexual predators, even if they’re luring offenders from outside southern Wisconsin to local communities.
The Milton Police Department on May 2 arrested a Madison man suspected of driving to Milton to meet what he thought was a 15-year-old Milton girl.
The man was arrested and charged in Rock County after Milton police conducted an online sting. Local taxpayers will pay for the man’s prosecution and possible jail time.
The arrest stems from the Milton Police Department’s membership in the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a program touted by the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office.
Jerry Schuetz, Milton police chief, said police used to patrol parks and schools, but now they have to patrol the Internet.
“We want to make it known that Internet predators are not safe there,” Schuetz said. “We want the Internet to be a safe place for kids and families.”
Law enforcement agencies have jurisdictional challenges with online sex stings, he said, but the time and money spent to protect local children is worth it.
The goal is to let sexual predators know if they come to Milton to meet a child, they could be meeting a cop, Schuetz said.
The guideline for whether it’s worth the time for his investigators to target online sexual predators is if the offender is willing to travel to Milton, he said.
If they are, a formal investigation is launched, Schuetz said.
The idea is to be proactive and stop them, rather than wait for a child to get sexually assaulted, Schuetz said.
Dave Moore, Janesville police chief, said his police department is part of the task force.
He wouldn’t comment on any ongoing investigation, but he said his department targets offenders who live in the area.
Janesville investigators focus on offenders in Janesville, Rock County or just outside the area, Moore said. They’re not interested in bringing in offenders from far-away places.
The expense of targeting out-of-state offenders is great considering they’re not a big threat to local children, he said.
Local investigators, however, can target out-of-state predators if federal money supports the cost of prosecuting and incarcerating those offenders, he said.
“If you were to take on offenders throughout the United States, I don’t’ think there is any end to the investigation or the cost of the investigation,” Moore said.
Todd Christiansen, Rock County sheriff’s captain, said the sheriff’s office is discussing whether to join the task force.
Sheriff’s investigators are trained to catch online predators, but they are not actively conducting such cases, he said.
“If they’re willing to come to our community, and we’re able to catch them and prosecute them, I think we should be doing it,” Christiansen said.
If predators won’t travel here, investigators should focus elsewhere, he said.
“It takes a lot of resources and time,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons we haven’t started (online investigations) yet. With the amount of work we have, we haven’t had time.”
J.B. Van Hollen, the Wisconsin attorney general, said the goal of the program is to protect children.
If more agencies join the task force, they can cooperate across jurisdictional boundaries and take pedophiles off the street, he said. The task force encourages a universal approach.
The money used to conduct the investigations is worth it, Van Hollen said, and law enforcement agencies should be willing to arrest offenders from anywhere.
In the Milton case, the police department took a Madison offender off the streets, he said. Next time, the Madison Police Department might arrest a Milton offender.
The task force encourages cooperation, Van Hollen said, and no community is immune to the problem.
“The odds are the same crime could happen in reverse next time,” he said.
STATE TASK FORCE
Law enforcement agencies in the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force get training and equipment for online investigations targeting sexual predators.
The task force has existed for 10 years, and 83 agencies are members, according to the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office.
The task force has led to the arrests of 540 suspects and the execution of 647 search warrants, according to the attorney general’s office.
The state is aware of more than 22,300 Internet addresses distributing child pornography, according to the attorney general’s office.
One in seven children are sexually solicited online, according to the attorney general’s office.
TASK FORCE MEMBERS
Area law enforcement agencies in the Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force include: