SAWYER COUNTY -- A criminal complaint has been filed against Donald Dahlke, of Hayward, WI, alleging that Dahlke utilized a computer to facilitate a child sex crime.
Dahlke is facing charges of Class C Felony Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime, and Class C Felony Attempt Sexual Assault of a Child Under 16 Years of Age following an undercover sex sting investigation conducted by the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office.
The criminal complaint filed against Dahlke alleges that he communicated with an undercover law enforcement officer operating an online social medial profile and attempted to make arrangements to meet an underage female for sexual activity.
During March 2022 and April 2022 Dahlke communicated through online social media with the undercover online profile. Dahlke advised that he was a 26-year-old male, and was informed that the online profile that he was communicating with was a 15-year old female, according to a criminal complaint filed against him.
Dahlke made arrangements to meet with the “child”, and also allegedly told the “child” that they could “do some meth too”. Dahlke stated that they would not do anything the “child” was not comfortable doing and discussed sex, oral sex, and condoms. Dahlke made arrangements to meet the underage female in Hayward, WI.
When Dahlke arrived at the arranged meeting point, he also had his 3-year-old child in the vehicle with him, according to the criminal complaint. Another relative took custody of the child when Dahlke was taken into custody.
The criminal complaint states that Dahlke admitted to sending and receiving the messages and that he knew the child was 15 and that they talked about having sex.
Dahlke also claimed to have known that it was a set-up, however, the criminal complaint states that Dahlke wrote an apology letter to the mother of the “child”.
Online circuit court records show that Dahlke appeared in Sawyer County Circuit Court for a bail bond hearing on April 6, 2022. The Hon. John Yackel ordered a $10,000 cash bond for Dahlke.
Dahlke appeared most recently on April 12, 2022, for an initial appearance hearing, and is scheduled to appear again on April 20, 2022, regarding his criminal charges.
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Pursuant to the direction of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as found in Supreme Court Rule 20:3.6, Trial Publicly, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Apr 18, 2022 6:11 pm CDT
