Hidden in Plain Sight: Almost 200 sex offenders reside in Oneida, Vilas counties

Wisconsin has the fifth highest rate of sexual offenders per capita in the nation, according to data compiled by SafeHome.org.

While Oneida and Vilas counties fall below the state average of 459 per 100,000, they remain above the national average of 241 per 100,000.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry lists 116 sex offenders who reside in Oneida County and 68 who reside in Vilas County. That puts Oneida County at a rate of 317 per 100,000 residents, and Vilas County at 295 per 100,000 residents. These figures are calculated using 2020 census population data.

The sex offender registry is accessible to the public at appsdoc.wi.gov/public. This website details the names and addresses of registered sex offenders.

“People need to use their intelligence when they’re looking at this,” Vilas County sheriff Joe Fath said. “It’s not meant to scare people, it’s just meant to inform them so they can make proper decisions.”

“The whole idea is to use it as a tool, to use it responsibly, and not to use it as a way to harass somebody who is out living in the community,” said Captain Robert Hebein of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office. 

Hebein, who was involved with Oneida County’s Internet Crimes Against Children initiative for seven years and previously supervised the county’s sex offender program, said repeat offenses among individuals on the registry are “not uncommon.”

“Just from my past experience I can say we certainly have come into contact with repeat offenders on all different kinds of sex crimes,” he said. “It’s certainly not uncommon to have repeat offenders.”

Who is on the registry?

While there is a National Sex Offender Public Website (nsopw.gov) run by the Department of Justice, each state and U.S. Territory operates its own sex offender registry and website with individual laws that determine what information is displayed online.

Anyone who on or after Dec. 25, 1993 has been convicted, adjudicated delinquent, was in prison, in a juvenile correctional facility, in a secured residential care facility for children, or on probation, parole or extended supervision for a registerable sex offense is required by law to register as a sex offender.

In addition, if living, working or attending school in Wisconsin, the following must register:

• Any sex offender who is required to register with another state, including juveniles;

• Any sex offender convicted in a military, tribal, or federal court;

• Any sex offender who has been convicted in another state of an offense comparable to one of Wisconsin’s registerable offenses, including juveniles;

• Any juvenile who is on supervision and enters Wisconsin under the Interstate Compact Agreement.

Although juveniles are required to register, juvenile information is not available to the general public and will not appear on the Sex Offender Registry website.

Time on the registry is dependent upon a variety of factors.

“It varies on the crime,” Hebein said. “Some have a mandatory lifetime, some have a 15-year, for some it’s at the discretion of the court.”

Registrants must report their address, employment, volunteer work, school enrollment status and internet identifiers. Failure to report or falsifying information is a serious offense and can lead to a $10,000 fine and/or up to 6 years in prison, or both.

Michael Strasburg may be reached at [email protected].