DARLINGTON - A 46-year-old registered sex offender from Darlington is jailed on a $1 million bond for child sexploitation and child porn charges filed Tuesday, Aug. 27, and more charges are expected as police seek the public's help in an ongoing investigation.
Timmy J. Reichling faces up to 255 years in prison if convicted on the three Class C felony counts of child sexploitation, three Class I felony counts of being a registered sex offender photographing a minor without consent and five Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography.
Reichling posed on Facebook as a teenager named "Nathan Solman" and solicited at least one local girl for hundreds of photos and video, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators suspect there are other victims not yet identified, both in Wisconsin and out of state.
He was arrested at 9:30 a.m. last Thursday, Aug. 22, according to Darlington Chief of Police Jason King. The arrest came after police and state agents searched Reichling's trailer at W14335 County F and a nearby home belonging to his family members at W14265 County F.
State agents report finding "several million" images of child porn on hard drives, thumb drives, and in videos and other digital storage devices seized during the searches.
Reichling has been in jail since last Thursday and had his bail set Tuesday morning in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
"The D.A. argued before the judge that bail should be high because Reichling poses a threat to the victims in this matter, some (of whom) reside in Darlington," King said.
King said news of Reichling's arrest was withheld until Tuesday afternoon due to the ongoing investigation.
"We waited until the charges were filed because the matter remains under investigation and we needed more investigative time before the public knew," he said.
Now police are looking for tips on other possible victims.
"We're asking anyone who thinks they may have information, or who may be a victim, to please come forward," Jenniffer Price, special agent with the Department of Criminal Investigation, said in a release. Anyone with information may contact the DCI at 608-266-1671 or Darlington police at 608-776-4981.
A preliminary hearing for Reichling is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Reichling was found guilty by a jury in 1993 of three Class C felony counts of second-degree sexual assault with use of force and a Class E felony count of false imprisonment. A felony charge of child abuse was dismissed in the case.
Reichling is no immediate relation to Chief Deputy John Reichling of the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, according to King.
'I will ruin your life'
The criminal complaint alleges years of threats and systematic exploitation going back to at least July 2010, when the alleged victim was 13 years old. The complaint alludes to other victims, some prepubescent. Reichling reportedly used multiple identities on Facebook and elsewhere online, including Nathan Solman, Erich Riech and Adrian Connor.
The girl told police "Nathan Solman" requested her as a friend on Facebook when she was 13 and they began an online relationship. He started asking for photos of her naked and soon was demanding 10 to 20 photos each night and instructing her on how to take the photos. He would leave a camera in her backyard, then have her return it to the same spot when she was done. He threatened to send the naked photos to her friends and family and said he would "come get" her if she stopped providing them.
He also demanded a video of her having sex with her boyfriend, and provided a video camera for them to use.
Her only in-person encounter with the person she thought was "Nathan Solman" was on an evening in June or July 2012, when he texted a friend of hers saying he could see them all playing together in a backyard. It was dark outside, and they only talked about five minutes, she told police, but she realized then he wasn't 14 or 15 as she thought but a grown man likely in his 30s. He ran off when her father came outside.
The complaint alleges Reichling, posing as Solman, texted the girl other times and told her he could see her outdoors with friends, including one time while she was at the municipal pool in Monroe.
When she started ignoring "Nathan Solman" and reporting his behavior to police, the complaint states he threatened her with a menacing text - "If you don't talk to me, I will ruin your life" - and she began living in daily fear of him.
Investigators report finding about 300 photos of the girl in Reichling's collection.
Timmy J. Reichling faces up to 255 years in prison if convicted on the three Class C felony counts of child sexploitation, three Class I felony counts of being a registered sex offender photographing a minor without consent and five Class D felony counts of possessing child pornography.
Reichling posed on Facebook as a teenager named "Nathan Solman" and solicited at least one local girl for hundreds of photos and video, according to the criminal complaint. Investigators suspect there are other victims not yet identified, both in Wisconsin and out of state.
He was arrested at 9:30 a.m. last Thursday, Aug. 22, according to Darlington Chief of Police Jason King. The arrest came after police and state agents searched Reichling's trailer at W14335 County F and a nearby home belonging to his family members at W14265 County F.
State agents report finding "several million" images of child porn on hard drives, thumb drives, and in videos and other digital storage devices seized during the searches.
Reichling has been in jail since last Thursday and had his bail set Tuesday morning in Lafayette County Circuit Court.
"The D.A. argued before the judge that bail should be high because Reichling poses a threat to the victims in this matter, some (of whom) reside in Darlington," King said.
King said news of Reichling's arrest was withheld until Tuesday afternoon due to the ongoing investigation.
"We waited until the charges were filed because the matter remains under investigation and we needed more investigative time before the public knew," he said.
Now police are looking for tips on other possible victims.
"We're asking anyone who thinks they may have information, or who may be a victim, to please come forward," Jenniffer Price, special agent with the Department of Criminal Investigation, said in a release. Anyone with information may contact the DCI at 608-266-1671 or Darlington police at 608-776-4981.
A preliminary hearing for Reichling is scheduled at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3.
Reichling was found guilty by a jury in 1993 of three Class C felony counts of second-degree sexual assault with use of force and a Class E felony count of false imprisonment. A felony charge of child abuse was dismissed in the case.
Reichling is no immediate relation to Chief Deputy John Reichling of the Lafayette County Sheriff's Department, according to King.
'I will ruin your life'
The criminal complaint alleges years of threats and systematic exploitation going back to at least July 2010, when the alleged victim was 13 years old. The complaint alludes to other victims, some prepubescent. Reichling reportedly used multiple identities on Facebook and elsewhere online, including Nathan Solman, Erich Riech and Adrian Connor.
The girl told police "Nathan Solman" requested her as a friend on Facebook when she was 13 and they began an online relationship. He started asking for photos of her naked and soon was demanding 10 to 20 photos each night and instructing her on how to take the photos. He would leave a camera in her backyard, then have her return it to the same spot when she was done. He threatened to send the naked photos to her friends and family and said he would "come get" her if she stopped providing them.
He also demanded a video of her having sex with her boyfriend, and provided a video camera for them to use.
Her only in-person encounter with the person she thought was "Nathan Solman" was on an evening in June or July 2012, when he texted a friend of hers saying he could see them all playing together in a backyard. It was dark outside, and they only talked about five minutes, she told police, but she realized then he wasn't 14 or 15 as she thought but a grown man likely in his 30s. He ran off when her father came outside.
The complaint alleges Reichling, posing as Solman, texted the girl other times and told her he could see her outdoors with friends, including one time while she was at the municipal pool in Monroe.
When she started ignoring "Nathan Solman" and reporting his behavior to police, the complaint states he threatened her with a menacing text - "If you don't talk to me, I will ruin your life" - and she began living in daily fear of him.
Investigators report finding about 300 photos of the girl in Reichling's collection.