By Shereen Siewert, Wausau Pilot and Review
A 47-year-old man with two prior child sex-related convictions is jailed Monday after police say he contacted a 15-year-old girl for sex.
But the “teen” was really an undercover police officer and Theodore Sanderfoot, of New London, now faces decades in prison.
Sanderfoot appeared Monday, May 4 in Marathon County Circuit Court for an initial appearance on charges of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and soliciting an intimate representation of a minor. Circuit Judge Jill Falstad ordered Sanderfoot held on a $1 million cash bond as he awaits trial.
Online court records show Sanderfoot was convicted twice before of related charges. In 1991, Sanderfoot was convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child. A child enticement conviction followed in 2001, according to online court records.
Sanderfoot is being charged as a persistent repeater, which is akin to a three-strikes and you’re out law. This applies to suspects charged with serious child sex offenses or serious felonies.
A person is considered a persistent repeater if he’s been convicted of a serious felony on two or more separate occasions at any time preceding the serious felony for which he is presently charged, or convicted of a serious child sex offense on at least one prior occasion preceding the serious felony for which he is charged.
If the person is a persistent repeater, the term of imprisonment for the present offense is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or extended supervision.
A preliminary hearing, where a judge determines if enough evidence exists to move forward to trial, is set for May 13.
