MONROE - Four area men were charged with sexual assault of a child after a Department of Justice investigation revealed they all had sexual contact with an underage Belleville girl.
The four men were charged in Green County Circuit Court last week after Department of Justice investigators obtained records of the victim's Facebook correspondence between October and December of 2014. The records revealed a string of sexually explicit messages and photographs exchanged between the victim and the offenders, as well as plans to schedule liaisons.
Each offender faces at least one charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison or a $100,000 fine. Charges of child enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
• Dustin Kenneth Weber, 33, New Glarus, was charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child, two counts of child enticement and one count of making threats after he met the victim for sex multiple times between October 2014 and May 2015.
According to the victim's testimony, she first met Weber in late October and began a correspondence on Facebook. Weber requested nude photographs from the victim, to which she complied.
The victim said Weber was aware of her age from the beginning of their contact.
Not long after they began corresponding, Weber met the victim in person and drove her to the Brooklyn Wildlife Area to have sex. The same day, the two met at his residence.
After the second encounter, Weber allegedly told the victim "the police had better not be involved" or he would kill her. The victim said she believed Weber's threat.
• William Ross Viney, 24, Monticello, faces three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of child enticement.
Viney's first encounter with the victim occurred on Nov. 9, when he picked her up from a park and drove her to his residence for sex. After the encounter, he dropped her off near her home.
The victim also invited Viney into her home during subsequent encounters.
As with each of the four men, the victim said Viney was aware of the victim's age. In his correspondence, Viney once said he would be in much more trouble than the victim if their relationship was ever discovered.
• Eric C. Wade, 26, Belleville, was charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and three counts of child enticement.
The victim claimed her first sexual encounter with Wade occurred in August of 2014. Wade picked her up from her home, drove her to his residence, where they had sex. Shortly after, Wade drove her back to her home.
Wade met the victim three times in approximately four weeks, each time driving her to his home, then returning her to her own home.
• Johnathon Todd Suther-land, 22, Albany, faces one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child and one charge of child enticement.
According to his correspondence with the victim, Sutherland and the victim exchanged several explicit messages and photographs on Nov. 15, 2014, before meeting in person the next day. Sutherland allegedly drove the victim to the driveway of a rural residence, where he had sex with her in the back seat of his vehicle.
Sutherland's correspondence also alludes to a second encounter on Nov. 26, but the victim did not discuss this with investigators.
The four men were charged in Green County Circuit Court last week after Department of Justice investigators obtained records of the victim's Facebook correspondence between October and December of 2014. The records revealed a string of sexually explicit messages and photographs exchanged between the victim and the offenders, as well as plans to schedule liaisons.
Each offender faces at least one charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison or a $100,000 fine. Charges of child enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
• Dustin Kenneth Weber, 33, New Glarus, was charged with three counts of sexual assault of a child, two counts of child enticement and one count of making threats after he met the victim for sex multiple times between October 2014 and May 2015.
According to the victim's testimony, she first met Weber in late October and began a correspondence on Facebook. Weber requested nude photographs from the victim, to which she complied.
The victim said Weber was aware of her age from the beginning of their contact.
Not long after they began corresponding, Weber met the victim in person and drove her to the Brooklyn Wildlife Area to have sex. The same day, the two met at his residence.
After the second encounter, Weber allegedly told the victim "the police had better not be involved" or he would kill her. The victim said she believed Weber's threat.
• William Ross Viney, 24, Monticello, faces three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and one count of child enticement.
Viney's first encounter with the victim occurred on Nov. 9, when he picked her up from a park and drove her to his residence for sex. After the encounter, he dropped her off near her home.
The victim also invited Viney into her home during subsequent encounters.
As with each of the four men, the victim said Viney was aware of the victim's age. In his correspondence, Viney once said he would be in much more trouble than the victim if their relationship was ever discovered.
• Eric C. Wade, 26, Belleville, was charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and three counts of child enticement.
The victim claimed her first sexual encounter with Wade occurred in August of 2014. Wade picked her up from her home, drove her to his residence, where they had sex. Shortly after, Wade drove her back to her home.
Wade met the victim three times in approximately four weeks, each time driving her to his home, then returning her to her own home.
• Johnathon Todd Suther-land, 22, Albany, faces one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child and one charge of child enticement.
According to his correspondence with the victim, Sutherland and the victim exchanged several explicit messages and photographs on Nov. 15, 2014, before meeting in person the next day. Sutherland allegedly drove the victim to the driveway of a rural residence, where he had sex with her in the back seat of his vehicle.
Sutherland's correspondence also alludes to a second encounter on Nov. 26, but the victim did not discuss this with investigators.