Three men charged in Oneida County with sexually-related crimes

Three men accused of sexually-related computer crimes involving minors were recently arrested and taken to the Oneida County Jail.

The case against Thomas Bartelme, 42, Rhinelander, goes back to July of 2022 when he was arrested and charged with one count of use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, a Class C felony, and attempting the sexual assault of a child under 16-years old, also a Class C felony.

Semling

He faces a fine of up to $100,000 or up to 40 years in prison or both for the first count and a fine of up to $50,000 or prison for up to 20 years or both. 

According to court records, Bartelme had violated conditions of his probation since his initial arrest and a motion to “reinstitute proceedings and enter judgment of conviction” was made in July by the Oneida County district attorney’s office, a motion that was eventually granted by Price County judge Mark Fuhr on Sept. 25 and Bartelme was again taken into custody. 

Eric Semling, 38, Eagle River, was arrested on Sept. 25 in Rhinelander and charged by the Oneida County district attorney’s office with four different counts; attempted second degree assault of a child under 16 years of age, a Class C felony; use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime which is also a Class C felony; child enticement, a Class D felony and soliciting intimate representation from a minor, a Class I felony. 

StrombladIf convicted on all counts, Semling faces a total of up to $260,000 in fines, up to nearly 89 years in prison or all. 

A cash bond of $10,000 was paid on Sept. 30.

Other conditions of his bond set by Oneida County judge Michael Schiek are that Semling is not to leave the state of Wisconsin, there’s to be no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18, no access to any device that can access the internet, he must live with his father in Eagle River and Semling is not be anywhere near his place of employment.

His next court date is set for Nov. 10. 

Johnathan Stromblad, 27, Rib Lake, was, like Semling, arrested in Rhinelander and charged with felony use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and felony attempted second degree sexual assault of a child under 16. 

His initial court appearance was Sept. 29 and cash bond was set by Schiek at $25,000.  

Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected].