September 1, 2022 at 11:13 a.m.
Convicted sex offender to be released Sept. 6
Supervision to last one year; sex offender registration to end in 2025
Convicted sex offender to be released Sept. 6
By River News Staff-
The Rhinelander Police Department issued a press release Tuesday morning announcing that Albert Chagnon, 40, will be released to the community on Sept. 6 and will reside at 17 W. Prospect Street in Rhinelander. He is described as 6'1" tall, approximately 290 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.
"Albert will be monitored by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Division and your local law enforcement," the release notes. "He will be subject to the conditions of the Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry and placed on GPS monitoring."
According to the release, Chagnon was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2003, failure to maintain sex offender registry in 2010, failure to update sex offender information in 2013, violating state/county institution laws in 2014 and battery in 2018.
The 2014 case involved Chagnon clipping hundreds of photos of young girls and keeping them in a notebook while an inmate at Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
According to the criminal complaint, as Chagnon was being processed for discharge from prison, officials found a notebook containing photographs of fully clothed girls that he had clipped from The Lakeland Times and other publications.
Some of the photos were accompanied by written commentary of a graphic and sexual nature.
Following discovery of the notebook, he was charged with 23 felony counts of intentionally photographing a minor without consent and four counts of violating state/county institution laws. However, an appeals court later ordered the dismissal of the felony counts, agreeing with Chagnon's defense attorney that those counts fell under the statute that prohibits sex offenders from "intentionally capturing a representation" of a minor without the written consent of the child's parent, legal guardian or custodian.
Chagnon's attorney argued that "intentionally capturing a representation" means the sex offender, Chagnon in this case, would have had to have produced the photos himself using a camera or recording device. In its written decision, the appeals court said the Legislative Reference Bureau's analysis of 2005 Assembly Bill 251, which was the source of the statute under which Chagnon was charged, states: "This bill prohibits persons who are required to register as sex offenders from intentionally photographing, filming, or videotaping any person under the age of 17 unless the parent, custodian, or guardian of the person under the age of 17 provides written consent."
In addition, Chagnon did not store the "data" of the visual representations because that would have entailed digital storage, the court noted.
Following the appeals court ruling, Chagnon entered no contest pleas to the three misdemeanor counts of violating state/county institution laws (as a repeater). The fourth count was read in for sentencing purposes.
A Winnebago County judge sentenced him to one year in prison followed by one year of extended supervision, to be served consecutively, with credit for 394 days served. It's that sentence that Chagnon is about to complete.
According to information listed on the Wisconsin Department of Corrections offender locator website, and confirmed by Rhinelander police captain Josh Chiamulera, Chagnon's "maximum discharge date" is Sept. 21, 2023, meaning he will no longer be subject to Department of Corrections monitoring as of that date.
Also, the requirement that he register as a sex offender is scheduled to end on Jan. 8, 2025.
The police department press release notes that Chagnon is not wanted by police at this time.
"This notification is not intended to increase fear; rather, it is our belief that an informed public is a safer public," the release states. "Sex offenders have always lived in our communities; but it was not until the WI Sex Offender Registry and Community Notification Law was enacted that law enforcement was able to share this information with the community."
If anyone sees Chagnon engaging in concerning behavior, including unapproved contact with a minor, they are encouraged to contact local law enforcement, the release continues.
Please contact the Rhinelander Police Department (715-365-5300) or the Oneida County Sheriff's Office Communications Center at 715-361-5201.
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