October 27, 2014 at 4:39 p.m.
Meeting Wednesday on allegations against sex offender
Meeting Wednesday on allegations against sex offender
The meeting, scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, will be held in the Minocqua Library, 415 Menominee St., in downtown Minocqua.
The subject of the meeting: Albert Chagnon, a registered sex offender who police say created a booklet containing photos of more than 250 girls while an inmate in the Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
Lt. Terri Hook of the Oneida County sheriff's office has estimated the girls in the booklet are between the ages of 0 and 12 years old. Hook said some photos have names and ages of girls written next to them, while pornographic material is also in the booklet.
Chagnon excised the photos from The Lakeland Times and other publications, according to the state Department of Corrections. He had a subscription to the Times, but canceled it earlier this month.
Joy Staab, a DOC spokesperson, said authorities found the booklet on Oct. 7 during an inventory of Chagnon's belongings as he was being processed for release from prison.
"He was literally being checked out at that time," Staab said.
Despite the booklet's discovery, Staab said the prison could not hold Chagnon because he had reached his mandatory release time.
Chagnon was transferred to Rhinelander, where he is from, to serve probation. He was set to live at a state-operated temporary living facility on Prospect Street while under intensive DOC supervision.
At 12:49 p.m. on Oct. 8 - the day after he left prison - Chagnon was placed in the Oneida County jail on a probation hold because of the booklet.
DOC has not yet released details about what happened in the time period between when Chagnon was released from prison and when he was booked into the Oneida County jail.
Chagnon is being held in the Winnebago County Jail on probable cause of a crime, and charges could be filed this week, according to the Winnebago County District Attorney's office. (Chagnon is alleged to have collected the images from prison in Oshkosh, so police there have jurisdiction.) Under Wisconsin law, a registered sex offender is not allowed to intentionally store photographs or other visual representations of a minor without the written consent of the minor's parent, legal custodian or guardian.
The state is also monitoring Chagnon with a GPS device.
Hook has invited parents concerned that Chagnon might have obtained a photo of their child to contact her. She can be reached at [email protected].
In 2003, Chagnon was found guilty of possession of child pornography - he emailed sexually explicit images of children to a co-worker - and has since been in and out of prison.
He most recently served a two-year sentence in Oshkosh for violating the state's sex offender registry rules.
IF YOU GO: Police will hold a community meeting about allegations that a sex offender collected images of Northwoods girls from prison. The meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, and will be held in the Minocqua Library, 415 Menominee St., in downtown Minocqua.
Jonathan Anderson may be reached at [email protected]
Comments:
You must login to comment.