Tomahawk man enters plea to child sex crimes

Joseph Wagner
Joseph Wagner

WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) -- A Tomahawk man has entered a plea on charges that he tried to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex in Rib Mountian.

Joseph Wagner was in Marathon County court Monday to enter a not guilty plea to six felony counts of Exposing a Child to Harmful Material and Using a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime. He also faces a misdemeanor count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The charges stem from an October incident in which Wagner was caught by officers posing as a girl on Facebook. The two had been communicating for a couple of weeks, and Wagner had sent inappropriate videos and photos of himself, asking for the same in return from her.

Officers found condoms and lubricant in Wagner's car at the time of his arrest.

During Monday's hearing, Attorney Amanda Ley raised the issue of competency for her 40-year-old client. A judge then ordered him to undergo a competency examination before the case proceeds further. A pretrial conference will be held on December 13th.

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