BV man charged with exposing a child to harmful material
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 19-year-old Boyceville man has been charged with one felony count of exposing a child to harmful material after allegedly sending nude photographs of himself to a 14-year-old girl.
Judge Christina M. Mayer set bail with a $2,000 signature bond for Jonathan A. Zebro during an appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court September 2.
According to the criminal complaint, the 14-year-old girl’s father contacted the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department on August 30.
The man said he had used his daughter’s phone while his own phone was charging and that he regularly monitors the girl’s phone activity and her social media activity on the phone.
When the father reviewed the Snapchat messages on the girl’s phone, he found a picture she had received of a nude man.
The girl confirmed the identity of the man who had sent nude photos of himself and said he had added her as a contact on Snapchat about a month ago and that she had received between 10 and 20 nude photographs from Zebro, according to the complaint.
The deputy asked the girl if Zebro had requested nude photographs of her, and the girl said he had and that she had sent nude pictures of herself to Zebro.
The girl said she had not met Zebro in person after corresponding on Snapchat but that Zebro had invited her to his house to “dance naked for him,” the complaint states.
The deputy was able to confirm that there had never been any physical contact between the girl and Zebro.
During an interview, Zebro admitted to sending and receiving nude photographs with the girl, according to the complaint.
Zebro confirmed that he had never met the girl in person.
The initial conversations between Zebro and the girl were basic information about each other, who they are, where they are from, what they like to do, the complaint states.
When asked who had sent the first picture without clothing, Zebro told the investigator it was him, according to the complaint.
Zebro is scheduled for an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court on November 15.
Exposing a child to harmful material is a Class I felony that carries a penalty, upon conviction, of a prison sentence of up to three years and six months and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
In June of 2021, the Dunn County Board approved an ordinance prohibiting minor “sexting” that gives law enforcement and the district attorney options for dealing with minors who send inappropriate photographs or videos of themselves.
A minor does not violate the ordinance if all of the following apply: the minor did not solicit the photograph or video; the minor took reasonable steps to report the photograph or video to a school or law enforcement official; and the minor did not transmit or distribute the photographs or video to a third party other than a school or law enforcement official.
Any person who violates any provisions of the ordinance would be subject to a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, together with the applicable costs.
