By Shereen Siewert
A 39-year-old Spencer man is facing felony charges after accusations surfaced that he repeatedly molested a young boy over a two-year span.
Matthew Gerstenlauer is not in custody but was charged earlier this month. He is accused of assaulting a boy, then between the ages of 9 and 11, over a two-year span from 2013 to 2015.
Police say the boy disclosed the alleged abuse to a social worker, who reported the accusations to police. The alleged assaults happened at Gerstenlauer’s trailer in Spencer.
Gerstenlauer was questioned by police in July.
Gerstenlauer will be summoned into Marathon County Circuit Court, where he faces felony charges of sexual assault of a child with at least three violations of first-degree sexual assault and an additional related charge.
A date for an initial court appearance has not yet been set.
