Leader Staff
Two men were arrested in separate incidents over the weekend in the latest sex sting operation conducted by the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department.
Joshua J. Lemerond, 24, of Green Bay, and Timothy M. Brooks, 52, of Townsend, have each been charged with a felony count of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Both traveled to Shawano County on Friday after arranging encounters with what they believed to be a 15-year-old girl, according to the criminal complaint. Instead, they were met by sheriff’s deputies who took them into custody.
They could each face a maximum 40 years in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty.
Each was ordered held on a $5,000 cash bond Monday.
Lemerond is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday.
Brooks is scheduled for an adjourned initial appearance on May 11.
“Many in the public may be surprised, but the sheriff’s office does investigate instances where some of our youth intentionally put themselves at risk by posting personal and intimate information on the Internet,” Sheriff Adam Bieber said. “Those incidents are investigated on a case-by-case basis; often with education on the potential danger on types of posts being our primary objective.
“Knowing that predators exist in what has become a target-rich environment has led us to practice crime prevention in a virtual environment, before that interaction moves from the Internet into real world victimization.”