Sentencings were handed down Wednesday in two criminal cases stemming from Internet sex sting operations conducted over the past two years, and another three cases were added as a result of a sting operation over the weekend.
The new cases bring to nine the number of people arrested in Shawano County for using a computer to facilitate a sex crime. Another case is pending in Brown County for a Shawano man arrested there.
The operations originated with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force and involved undercover investigators making online contact with suspected offenders.
Detectives posing as juveniles on the Internet were contacted by the suspects who arranged to meet them for a sexual rendezvous. The suspects were arrested when they arrived.
There have been five regional operations since fall 2012, resulting in 83 arrests in multiple counties.
The two sentencings Wednesday, however, were the result of an independent sting operation run by Shawano County authorities last fall dubbed Operation Guardian Angel.
On Wednesday, Brandon J. Voelz, 22, of Green Bay, was sentenced to the stiffest penalty meted out so far in Shawano County. Voelz, who pleaded no contest to the charge under a plea agreement, was ordered by Judge William Kussel Jr. to serve seven years in prison and 13 years extended supervision.
Also sentenced Wednesday was Ryan L. Zempel, 20, of Coleman, who pleaded no contest to a lesser felony charge of attempted child enticement. Zempel, who had no previous criminal record, was sentenced to one year in jail as a condition of 10 years on probation.
Two other Shawano County cases also have gone to sentencing.
Jeffery D. Vadnais-Speck, 29, of Shawano, pleaded no contest to child enticement and was sentenced by Judge James Habeck in August to a year in jail as a condition of four years on probation.
Vadnais-Speck was the first to be arrested in a regional sex sting operation, dubbed Operation Black Veil, which occurred in March 2013 and resulted in 18 arrests statewide.
Black Veil II in September 2013 led to 15 arrests, including Richard E. Denty, 34, of Shawano.
Denty pleaded no contest and was sentenced by Judge James Habeck in September to the mandatory minimum of five years in prison and 18 months extended supervision.
In March, authorities arrested 20 people in an Internet sting operation dubbed Operation Vanguard.
Shawano County authorities were involved in five of the 19 arrests, including three in the town of Wescott.
Shawano County arrests included Michael J. Stalvey, 29, of Shawano, James J. Kettleson, 50, of Menasha, and James W. Ritchie, 46, of Shiocton.
Stalvey is scheduled for a pre-trial conference Friday. Kettleson and Ritchie are scheduled for pre-trial conferences Nov. 4.
The operation also resulted in the arrest of Shawn M. Raasch, 40, of Shawano in Brown County.
Authorities said Raasch was training to be a school bus driver for a company that contracts with the Shawano School District. He was taken into custody by Brown County authorities in Howard.
He was charged with child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He pleaded guilty in August to child enticement and is due to be sentenced Monday.
The latest sting effort last weekend was dubbed Operation Aegis. It resulted in three arrests in Shawano County, 11 people in Brown County, six in Wausau, two in Oneida County, and one each in Two Rivers and Superior.
Troy I. Webster, 35, of Neopit, Jeremy J. Davies, 23, listed as homeless, and Orlando A. Brown, 24, of Green Bay, were each charged with a felony count of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
In two of the cases, the suspects came to an arranged location in Wescott to meet with what they believed was a 15-year-old girl, according to the criminal complaints. Webster had arranged to meet what he believed was a 15-year-old boy, according to his complaint.
Webster was ordered held on a $3,000 cash bond and is scheduled for an adjourned initial appearance Monday.
Davies is being held on a $3,500 cash bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday.
Brown was ordered held on a $5,000 cash bond and is due in court for an adjourned initial appearance Monday.
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