A Green Bay man who allegedly planned to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex in Wescott on Wednesday is a registered sex offender who had cut off his monitoring bracelet and gone missing earlier in the week, according to a criminal complaint.
Brandon J. Voelz, 21, was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies at the scene of an arranged rendezvous site where authorities said he expected to meet the girl.
He was charged Friday in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court with a felony count of using a computer to facilitate a sex crime.
Judge William Kussel Jr. ordered Voelz held on a $25,000 bond.
Shawano County authorities had gotten information on Sunday about sexually graphic emails and text messages being exchanged between Voelz and a 15-year-old girl.
“The Sheriff’s Department became aware of an individual who was soliciting whom he believed to be an underage female for sexual purposes,” Detective Sgt. Gordon Kowaleski said. “A meeting was arranged between the two and, when the individual showed up, he was arrested.”
Voelz arrived at the meeting spot with liquor and a 12-pack of condoms in his vehicle, according to the criminal complaint.
Voelz also had an outstanding felony warrant, the complaint states.
Local authorities contacted the state Department of Corrections and were told Voelz had a previous conviction for first degree sexual assault of a child, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint states Voelz was living in Green Bay and cut off his monitoring bracelet shortly before midnight on Sunday. According to the complaint, communications between Voelz and the 15-year-old had started that afternoon.
The complaint states Voelz also had a room key from a Super 8 motel in Wausau, where he had apparently been staying until Tuesday with another male subject who the Department of Corrections said was another juvenile sex offender. Voelz showed up at the rendezvous in Wescott in a vehicle owned by the other male, according to the complaint.
Voelz could face a maximum 40 years in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 14.