Wisconsin Department of Justice Agents Partner with Federal Agents and the Sheboygan Police Department in Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Operation

Michael R. Rohde, of Sheboygan, Charged with 20 counts of Possession of Child Pornography

MADISON — On Thursday, May 31, 2012, Special Agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), with assistance from the Sheboygan Police Department, executed a search warrant at the residence of Michael R. Rohde, located at 1316 North 30th Street in Sheboygan.

According to the criminal complaint, an on-scene, forensic preview of a computer hard drive seized from the Rohde residence revealed “a number of photos and movies depicting explicit sexual conduct involving children.” According to the complaint, Rohde admitted to investigators to collecting child pornography, “stating he first became exposed to child pornography on the Internet in the mid-1990s,” with the most recent download of child pornography from an Internet bulletin board, he said, occurring on Monday, May 28, 2012.

Rohde has been charged with 20 counts of Possession of Child Pornography, a felony. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 13, 2012, at 3:00 p.m.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office also assisted in this investigation. The Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office and the Sheboygan Police Department are affiliates of Wisconsin's ICAC Task Force. Questions concerning this case should be directed to the Sheboygan County District Attorney's Office. A defendant enjoys the presumption of innocence. The prosecution must prove its allegations at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.