Elk Mound man held on $100,000 cash bail pleads guilty to possession of child pornography
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 22-year-old Elk Mound man being held on a $100,000 cash bail for possession of child pornography has pleaded guilty in Dunn County Circuit Court.
Adam R.W. Arnsdorf appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court before Judge Luke M. Wagner on April 24 for a plea hearing.
Arnsdorf was charged with one Class D felony count of possessing child pornography and one Class H felony count of bail jumping.
According to the plea deal outlined by Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Lucas D. Arras, Arnsdorf agreed to plead guilty to possession of child pornography and that the count of felony bail jumping would be dismissed, according to online court records.
The joint recommendation is that Arnsdorf will serve three years of initial confinement in the Wisconsin prison system followed by three years of extended supervision and that the Dunn County sentence would be concurrent with the sentence in a Price County case, Arras said.
Arnsdorf’s attorney, Daniel Chapman confirmed the details of the plea agreement and that Arnsdorf understands the agreement.
In addition, the plea deal includes the provision that Arnsdorf register as a sex offender as part of the conditions for extended supervision and that he pays court costs of $538 plus a $500 surcharge.
Judge Wagner accepted Arnsdorf’s guilty plea and set a one-hour sentencing hearing for June 25 at 2 p.m.
The judge also said he would issue an order for the release of the pre-sentence investigation (PSI) report from the Price County case.
Price County
In Price County, online court records show that Arnsdorf was charged with one felony count each of second degree sexual assault of a child, child enticement with sexual contact, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and exposing genitals to a child.
Bail was set at $75,000 cash in Price County in June of 2022.
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 that 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.
At a sentencing hearing April 12 in Price County, Arnsdorf was sentenced to 10 years of initial confinement and 15 years of extended supervision.
The court also ordered Arnsdorf to attend and complete sex offender treatment with any aftercare recommended by 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 assessment or treatment deemed appropriate by his probation agent, to have no access to the internet and to register as a sex offender.
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.
Snapchat identified the timestamp when the user shared or uploaded the video file as being July 16, 2023, and identified the suspect IP address as the LaCrosse — Eau Claire Metro Area with the Internet service provider as Spectrum/Charter Communications.
Sergeant Stalker provided Police Chief Weinberger with a letter from Charter Communications with a subscriber record concerning the case. The lease log identifies that the IP address was assigned to “the target” at an address in the Village of Elk Mound from July 14, 2023, to August 29, 2023, the criminal complaint states.
Adam Arnsdorf denied having a Snapchat account, but when he was asked about his phone, Arnsdorf said he wanted a lawyer, according to the criminal complaint.
Possession of child pornography carries a possible penalty of a fine of up to $100,000 and/or up to 25 years in prison.
Upon conviction, the court also is required to impose a surcharge of $500 for each image or copy of an image associated with the crime.
The court must also impose a bifurcated sentence including a term of initial confinement in prison for at least three years.
