MADISON — A Darlington man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison recently on child pornography-related charges.

The defendant, Josiah Creasey, 35, Darlington, Wisconsin was sentence by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, according to Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, in a statement.

Creasey pleaded guilty April 20 to charges he used minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct “for the purpose of producing videos and pictures of the conduct,” the statement said, adding that his prison term will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  

“Between 2017 and 2019, Creasey sexually assaulted two girls, beginning when they were 9 and 10 years old, and took videos and pictures of the assaults, the government statement said.  “During this same time, Creasey placed a hidden camera in a bathroom to capture nude images of the girls, and another young girl.”

It is unclear if Creasey was related to the victims or how he knew them. 

According to reports, Creasey was arrested in March 2021, after officials investigated a tip that he had uploaded to the Internet over 40 images of child pornography. Investigators later found him in possession of a “significant amount” of child pornography, including the images and videos that he produced.

Court records indicate Creasey was initially charged with numerous child pornography counts in Lafayette County Circuit Court in 2021, but those were dropped in lieu of the federal indictment.

In sentencing Creasey, the judge noted his concern over the defendant’s apparent obsession with sexualizing children and wanted to send a message to the community.

“The judge was also concerned that Creasey was a risk to reoffend because his sexual attraction to children dominated him, and he lacked self-understanding,” the statement added. “Judge Peterson noted that Creasy had a long way to go to fully accept responsibility and that a 20-year sentence was appropriate, as was a life term of supervised release.”

The charges against Creasey was the culmination of a joint investigation conducted by the Lafayette and Grant County Sheriffs’ Offices; Platteville Police Department; and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Przybylinski Finn prosecuted the case.