John Schaefer (Winnebago Co. Jail)
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A Menasha man was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for the production and distribution of child pornography.
John D. Schaefer, 35, is also required to register as a sex offender and will serve a lifetime on supervised release.
In Nov. 2022, Schaefer’s roommate contacted police and said he had been shown a video, taken by Schaefer, depicting the sexual abuse of a child approximately 15 months old. Authorities determined Schaefer assaulted the child while acting as a babysitter.
As part of the investigation, “law enforcement seized Schaefer’s electronic items, which contained the video of that abuse and over 2.2 terabytes of child sexual abuse material.”
During the sentencing hearing, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach noted the horrific nature of the defendant’s actions, the long-term mental health effects that his actions had on his victim and on the children depicted in the over 156,000 images and videos that he possessed and distributed. Judge Griesbach found a strong need to protect the community and sentenced Schaefer to 25 years’ imprisonment.
This case was investigated by the Menasha Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the Oshkosh Police Department.
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