By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — A former Wausau church pastor convicted of child enticement will serve one year in jail along with four years on probation and will register as a sex offender after a sentencing hearing held Tuesday in Marathon County Circuit Court.
Scott Patschke, 53, is free on a $2,000 bond. He must report to jail within 45 days.
Circuit Judge Greg Strasser ordered a withheld sentence for Patschke, which means the former pastor could be sent to prison if he does not adhere to the rules of his probation. The maximum penalty for child enticement is 25 years in the Wisconsin Prison System.
Police arrested Patschke after discovering graphic text messages and photos on his phone and iPad, according to the criminal complaint. Then a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Wausau, Patschke thought he was sending the messages to a 15-year-old boy.
Patschke was a former pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Independence, Missouri from June 2009 until he moved to Wausau to accept the position in Wausau, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is originally from Giddings, Tex., his profile states.
Strasser also ordered Patschke not to use the internet, social media or computers unless approved by a probation agent ahead of time. Patschke was also ordered not to have contact with children younger than 18.
Patschke resigned Sept. 22, roughly two weeks after his Sept. 9 installation as pastor at Trinity, and five days before the charges were filed against him.
