Boyceville man charged with 18 felonies related to exposing a child to harmful material bound over for trial
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A Dunn County judge has found probable cause in a case involving a 20-year-old Boyceville man facing 18 felony charges related to exposing a child to harmful material by texting pictures of his genitals to girls aged 12 to 17.
Jonathan A. Zebro, along with his attorney, Alicia Linzmeier, appeared before Judge James Peterson for a preliminary hearing in Dunn County Circuit Court October 6.
Zebro is charged in three separate cases with 12 felony counts of exposing a child to harmful material, four felony counts of soliciting an intimate representation from a minor, two felony counts of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and four misdemeanor counts of soliciting an intimate representation from a person aged 18 to 21 years old.
Officer Brandon Scott was the only witness to testify, and following Scott’s testimony, Judge Peterson found probable cause and bound Zebro over for trial, according to on-line court records.
An arraignment hearing for Zebro is scheduled for January 4.
According to the criminal complaints, a cellular telephone seized during a search warrant, and a search warrant issued for Snapchat, revealed that Zebro would misrepresent his age to the girls, saying that he was 16 or 17 years old, when he was in fact 19 years old, and would talk inappropriately to them about sexual acts he wished to perform with them.
The alleged victims, identified in the criminal complaints as Victim No. 1 through Victim No. 11, are from Mondovi, Boyceville, Glenwood City, Ridgeland, Sand Creek, Ellsworth, Spring Valley and Rib Lake.
Most of the girls said they had never met Zebro in person.
The girls said Zebro had asked them for nude pictures of themselves, and when asked if Zebro had sent them pictures, some said he had sent them many pictures of his genitals.
When one girl was asked how many pictures Zebro had sent to her, she replied “too many to count.” She said she had hung out with Zebro at her house once and said that he “was weird.” When the investigator asked her what she meant by “weird,” the girl said she is not a sexual person and that Zebro seemed like he wanted more.
Another girl said Zebro had sent pictures of his genitals after she told him she was 15 and he said he was 16 or 17. Zebro had asked her for nude photos, but she said she had never sent any. She also told investigators Zebro had sent her pictures of his genitals “without saying anything. He would just send it.”
One girl told investigators she had blocked Zebro on her phone, and when she was asked why, said Zebro was “creepy.”
Another girl said she had blocked Zebro when he asked for nude photos because “she does not do that.”
One girl said Zebro had become verbally abusive after they broke up, had called her a “stupid whore” and had asked for his sweatshirts and other items. The girl said she had tried to make arrangements to get the items back to him.
One girl said the first time she met Zebro they had sat in his truck and talked. The second time they met, they went shopping and then ended up having sexual intercourse. Zebro had told her he was 16 or 17, and the girl recently discovered he was actually 18 or 19 at the time.
One girl was 12 years old and in seventh grade when Zebro asked for nude pictures and had sent her multiple pictures of his exposed genitals.
Another girl, who was 15 years old, asked Zebro if he was a senior in high school, and he told her that he was and asked “if that was bad.” The girl said she thought he was 16, and he told her was 17. In reality, Zebro was 19 years old and had already graduated from high school.
One girl said Zebro had asked that she send him inappropriate pictures and videos but that she had never sent any videos.
Felony counts of exposing a child to harmful material and soliciting an intimate representation from a minor carry a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $10,000 and/or a prison sentence of up to three years and six months on each count.
Felony counts of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to 40 years in prison on each count.
A misdemeanor count of soliciting an intimate representation from someone who is between 18 and 20 years old carries a possible penalty, upon conviction, of a fine of up $10,000 and/or up to nine months in jail for each count.
