By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A cyber tip from a popular social media platform regarding at least 50 sexually explicit photos and videos of children uploaded to their servers led police to the home of a Wausau man who now faces multiple charges of possessing child pornography.
Brian Shepler, 30, appeared Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court for an initial appearance on the charges. He was ordered held on a $25,000 signature bond with the first $5,000 to be paid in cash.
Police say Shepler is suspected of uploading dozens of photos and videos to his Tumblr blog, many of which contain images of prepubescent girls being sexually assaulted by adult men. Tumbler terminated Shepler’s account and turned the files over to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in August 2018.
Tumblr is a microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and owned by Verizon Media. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users’ blogs.
Investigators say they traced the uploads to a Wausau address belonging to Shepler and his wife. Six officers searched Shepler’s home in the 900 block of S. 11th Avenue in the morning of Friday, Jan. 18 and seized three cell phones, a laptop and tablet from the residence. His wife and young children were at the home when police arrived, according to court filings.
According to the criminal complaint, an email address on Shepler’s cell phone matched the email address associated with the Tumblr account, connecting him to the uploads.
So far, 10 counts of possessing child pornography have been filed against Shepler, but investigators are following up with a more thorough exam of the suspect’s phone and other electronic devices. A warrant for data retained by Tumblr is also being sought, the complaint states.
If Shepler is convicted on all 10 counts, he faces up to 250 years in the Wisconsin Prison System.
A preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 30.
