Elk Mound man held on $100,000 cash bail and found guilty of possessing child pornography sentenced to prison
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — An Elk Mound man held on $100,000 cash bail and found guilty of possessing child pornography and second degree sexual assault of a child has been sentenced in Dunn County and Price County to serve time in prison.
Adam R.W. Arnsdorf, age 22, was sentenced by Judge Luke M. Wagner in Dunn County Circuit Court on June 25 to three years of initial confinement and three years of extended supervision on one felony count of possessing child pornography, according to on-line court records.
Another felony count of felony bail jumping was dismissed on a prosecutor’s motion.
Judge Wagner ordered Arnsdorf to serve the prison sentence concurrently with sentencing in a Price County case.
In Price County, Arnsdorf pleaded guilty to one felony count of second degree sexual assault of a child and was sentenced on April 12 to 10 years of initial confinement and 15 years of extended supervision.
Three other felonies — child enticement with sexual contact, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and exposing genitals to a child — were dismissed but read into the record for sentencing.
Judge Wagner set a cash bail for Arnsdorf of $100,000 in September of 2023.
In Dunn County Circuit Court, Arnsdorf received 284 days of credit for time already served in the county jail.
The defendant is required by both the Dunn County judge and the Price County judge to register as a sex offender.
In Price County, Judge Ann Knox-Bauer also ordered Arnsdorf to complete sex offender treatment with any aftercare recommended by the providers, to write a letter of apology to the victim, to have no contact with the victim or the victim’s family, to complete any assessments or treatment deemed appropriate by the probation agent and to have no access to the internet.
Arnsdorf received 193 days of credit for time served in Price County.
The defendant posted a cash bond of $75,000 in Price County on June 24, 2022.
At the time of the Dunn County sentencing hearing on June 25, Arnsdorf was in custody at the Dunn County jail, and according to on-line court records, had not posted the $100,000 cash bail.
Arnsdorf was scheduled for a jury trial in Price County in January of this year, but at a court hearing November 15, 2023, a plea agreement had been reached in which Arnsdorf pleaded guilty to the charge of second degree sexual assault of a child and the counts of child enticement with sexual contact, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and exposing genitals to a child were dismissed but would be read into the record for sentencing.
Cyber Tipline
According to the criminal complaint for the Dunn County case, the Elk Mound Police Department received a Cyber Tipline Report from the Wisconsin Department of Justice on September 6, 2023, indicating that Arnsdorf possessed child pornography via Snapchat at the location of a house in the Village of Elk Mound on July 16, 2023.
The cybertip was originally reported to the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children by Snapchat on July 17, and the National Center for Missing and Endangered Children then sent the cybertip to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Elk Mound Police Chief Chad Weinberger, along with Dunn County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Investigator Jason Stalker, viewed a three-minute video file associated with Arnsdorf’s account depicting a nude female child between the ages of five and 10 years old and a fully-developed male penis trying to enter the child’s vaginal area for sexual intercourse, according to the criminal complaint.
Adam Arnsdorf denied having a Snapchat account, but when he was asked about his phone, Arnsdorf said he wanted a lawyer, the criminal complaint states.
In Dunn County, the judge also ordered Arnsdorf to pay court costs of $538 and a surcharge of $500.
In Price County, the judge ordered Arnsdorf to pay felony costs, a DNA surcharge and provide a DNA sample.
Possession of child pornography carries a possible penalty of a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to 25 years in prison.
Under state law, upon conviction, the court is required to impose a surcharge of $500 for each image or copy of an image associated with the crime.
The court also must impose a bifurcated sentence including a term of initial confinement in prison for at least three years.
