Leader Staff
Editor’s note: The Shawano Leader was allowed behind-the-scenes access to Shawano County’s participation in Operation Vanguard. Thursday’s edition will feature an inside look at the operation. On Friday, we will take a broader look at the dangers facing juveniles on the Internet.
Authorities arrested 19 people, including two Shawano men, in a three-day, multi-agency Internet sting operation aimed at snaring potential child predators.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department worked with Brown County authorities and eight other agencies in what was dubbed Operation Vanguard.
Detectives posing as juveniles on the Internet were contacted by the suspects who arranged to meet them for a sexual rendezvous. The suspects were arrested when they arrived.
One of those arrested was a 40-year-old Shawano man who was training to be a school bus driver for a company that contracts with the Shawano School District. He was taken into custody by Brown County authorities in the town of Howard on Friday. Possible charges of child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime were still pending Monday.
Shawano School District Superintendent Gary Cumberland said he contacted Johnson Bus Company after learning of the arrest.
“Johnson Bus Company notified me that this individual was in the initial process of seeking employment with Johnson Bus and has never driven a bus route at this time,” Cumberland said in a statement. “In working with Johnson Bus Company, the district is certain they will do what is appropriate in this matter to keep all our students safe.”
Shawano County authorities were involved in five of the 19 arrests, three of which took place in the town of Wescott. The operation ran from Thursday through Saturday.
Charges were filed in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Monday against Michael J. Stalvey, 29, of Shawano; James J. Kettleson, 50, of Menasha; and James W. Ritchie, 46, of Shiocton.
Each faces a felony count of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime, which carries a maximum possible penalty of 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Ritchie was also charged with misdemeanor counts of possession of cocaine and marijuana.
All three had their initial appearances before Judge James Habeck on Monday.
Ritchie was ordered held on a $10,000 cash bond and is scheduled for a status conference on April 8.
Kettleson was ordered held on a $500 cash bond and is scheduled for an adjourned initial appearance Monday.
Stalvey was freed on a $1,500 signature bond and is due back in court on June 27 for a preliminary hearing.
In all three cases, the men responded to an ad on Craigslist posted by sheriff’s detectives posing as a 15-year-old girl, according to the criminal complaints.
Emails and text messages were exchanged that made it clear the men were looking to have sex, according to the complaints, and a meeting was arranged at a residence in Wescott.
All three were arrested without incident.
Operation Vanguard was initiated by Brown County authorities as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program; a task force created by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“The ICAC program was developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the Internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and heightened online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with potential underage victims,” the Brown County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
It was the fourth large-scale operation of its kind in northeast Wisconsin.
The first took place in October 2012 and netted five arrests. The second, dubbed Operation Black Veil, occurred in March of last year and resulted in 17 arrests statewide, including Jeffery D. Vadnais-Speck, 28, of Shawano.
Black Veil II in September led to 16 arrests, including Richard E. Denty, 34, of Shawano.
Starting in October, the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department ran Operation Guardian Angel, which also involved investigators posing as children on the Internet.
The operation led to the arrests of Ryan L. Zempel, 20, of Coleman, and Brandon J. Voelz, 22, of Green Bay, who are both charged with using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Another suspect was arrested on a misdemeanor count of prostitution and one juvenile was referred for distribution of child pornography.
All of the Shawano County cases are still pending.
“Shawano County’s efforts to remain proactive in these areas will continue,” Capt. Tom Tuma of the Shawano County Sheriff’s Department said.
In addition to Shawano and Brown counties, other agencies participating in Operation Vanguard were the Door County Sheriff’s Department, Marathon County Sheriff’s Department, Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department, Ashwaubenon Public Safety, Sturgeon Bay Police Department, Green Bay Police Department, Oshkosh Police Department and the Wausau Police Department.
Six arrests were made in Brown County, five in Marathon County, four in Oshkosh and one in Outagamie County.