Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
A Mattoon man accused of trying to abduct a girl in Wittenberg in 2011 was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison after pleading no contest to a charge of child enticement.
David W. Andersen, 51, will also have to serve another 18 years extended supervision. The 25-year total is the maximum sentence he could have gotten.
“Today justice was served not only for the 15-year-old girl that Mr. Andersen tried to abduct, but also for the community at large,” Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker said.
“What Mr. Andersen did in trying to chase down this young girl was any parent or child’s worst nightmare,” Parker said. “The maximum sentence of 25 years that was imposed in this case was necessary in order to keep Mr. Andersen under the watchful eye of the state until he is 70 years old.”
The sentence handed down by Judge William Kussel Jr. followed a joint recommendation from the state and Andersen’s defense attorney.
A charge of disorderly conduct was dismissed under the plea agreement, but read in for sentencing purposes, along misdemeanor counts from a separate case in which Andersen had been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior and criminal trespass to a dwelling.
Andersen had been scheduled for trial this week on the child enticement charge. He was accused of trying to force a 15-year-old girl into a pickup for the purpose of sexual intercourse.
The incident happened in the area of Genesee Street and Grand Avenue on March 21, 2011, while the girl was on her way to Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School.
According to the criminal complaint, a man in a truck later identified as Andersen stopped next to her and offered her a ride, which the girl declined. She then saw the truck drive ahead and park along a side street.
The girl became frightened and jumped over the guardrail, fleeing down the embankment and behind an antique store as Andersen pursued her on foot, according to the complaint. She made it to Wittenberg Middle School, where she reported the incident.
According to the complaint, Andersen admitted to investigators that he was the man involved in the incident.
He said he found the girl very attractive and looked like the type of girl he would like to meet and buy things for, the complaint states. He also said he wanted her to go on a date with him and that he needed younger women to have babies with.
In December 2011, Andersen was ordered held at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute to determine whether he was competent to stand trial. After nine months of evaluation, he was determined competent and was bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing in October 2012.
Andersen entered a plea of insanity in March of last year.
When Andersen is released on extended supervision, he will have to register as a sex offender and must comply with any mental health treatment recommended by the probation agent.