Leader Staff
A Green Bay man arrested Thursday in Shawano County’s latest sex sting operation has been charged with using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Ross W. Krueger, 32, could face a maximum 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine if found guilty.
According to the criminal complaint, Krueger responded to a Craigslist ad on the Internet and began texting with what he believed was a 15-year-old girl.
The texts were sexual in nature, and Krueger at one point sent a photo of his genitalia, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint alleges Krueger arranged to meet the girl for sex at a location in the town of Wescott. He was taken into custody when he arrived.
The Craigslist ad had actually been posted by a Shawano County sheriff’s detective who posed as the girl during the text exchanges.
Another deputy posed as the girl during two telephone conversations that took place while Krueger was on his way to the rendezvous spot, according to the complaint.
The arrest brings to 13 the number of people busted in computer sex sting operations in Shawano County over the past two years.
There have been five regional operations since fall 2012, resulting in 84 arrests in multiple counties. Shawano County authorities have also conducted several independent operations.
Krueger was freed Monday on a $5,000 signature bond after an appearance before Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge James Habeck.
He is due back in court for an adjourned initial appearance Feb. 23.