Wheeler man charged with child sexual assault sentenced to 50 years in prison
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 39-year-old Wheeler man originally charged with 30 felonies related to child sexual assault and possession of child pornography has been sentenced to 50 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision.
Wayne A. Englin appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court for a sentencing hearing before Judge James Peterson August 27.
At a plea hearing June 13, Englin pleaded guilty to two felony counts of the repeated sexual assault of the same child with at least three violations of first degree sexual assault and one felony count of the possession of child pornography.
Judge Peterson dismissed the remaining 27 felonies but ordered them read into the record for sentencing.
The judge also ordered a Pre-sentence Investigation (PSI) and that the report be completed and returned to the court two weeks before the sentencing hearing scheduled on August 27.
Judge Peterson set a $200,000 cash bail for Wayne Englin on May 13, and at the time of the sentencing hearing, Wayne Englin remained in custody at the Dunn County jail.
Englin’s wife, Michelle Englin, age 40, is charged with seven felony counts all together, four counts related to the sexual assault of a child, one felony count of child enticement with sexual contact, one felony count of failing to prevent mental harm to a child and one felony count of neglecting a child.
Judge Peterson set a $50,000 cash bail for Michelle Englin on May 13 and issued an order for a competency evaluation May 20.
At a court hearing June 3 based on a report by Dr. Donna Minter, a clinical psychologist, Judge Peterson issued a decision that Michelle Englin is competent to stand trial. She is scheduled to go to trial in Dunn County next January.
Sentencing
On the first count for Wayne Englin, the repeated sexual assault of the same child with at least three violations of first degree sexual assault, Judge Peterson sentenced Englin to 25 years of initial confinement in the Wisconsin Prison System with seven years and six months of extended supervision.
On the second count of the repeated sexual assault of the same child with at least three violations of first degree sexual assault, Judge Peterson also sentenced Englin to 25 years of initial confinement with seven years and six months of extended supervision to be served consecutively to the first count.
On the third count of possession of child pornography, Judge Peterson sentenced Englin to three years of initial confinement and and two years of extended supervision to be served concurrently with the sentences on the other two counts.
Judge Peterson granted Englin 112 days of credit for time served and ordered him to pay $268 in court costs per count and a $250 DNA surcharge per count as well as a $500 assessment for an image of child pornography.
Englin must register as a sex offender, complete sex offender treatment and aftercare programming and must comply with the Serious Sex Offender Registry.
Englin was ordered to have no contact with the victims and no unsupervised contact with minors.
By the time Englin completes his prison sentence and the extended supervision, he will be 104 years old.
Tips received
A Dunn County Sheriff’s Department investigator received a tip on March 20 of this year from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that on January 23, Facebook had flagged a photograph as apparent child pornography, according to the criminal complaint.
The investigator then received four additional tips all associated with the original tip. The tips referenced images originating from five different Facebook accounts.
A subpoena to Charter Communications revealed the IP address for Internet access was assigned to Wayne Englin with an address on Hillside Drive South in the Village of Wheeler, the complaint states.
The investigator obtained a search warrant for Englin’s address that was executed May 8. Wayne Englin and his wife, Michelle, were both at the residence at the time the search warrant was executed.
In addition to a cell phone and computer tablets, investigators discovered numerous pairs of juvenile female underwear with the names written on the inside of the underwear, even though no female juveniles live at the residence, according to the complaint.
The criminal complaint includes descriptions of 10 pornographic images of what are described as “prepubescent females.”
