By Shereen Siewert
A 35-year-old Wausau man accused of accessing and sharing sexually explicit photos on a social media platform is now facing felony charges and will be summoned into court later this month.
Duane Vlcek is being charged after a year-long investigation that began in 2019, when the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security took a referral from another agency regarding images detected by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police National Child Exploitation Center. Investigators traced pornographic images uploaded to the social media platform Kik to Vlcek, according to court documents.
Police say Vlcek admitted to searching and accessing explicit images of girls as young as 13 years old. A warrant search of Vlcek’s phone revealed multiple videos featuring prepubescent girls, according to court documents.
The case was then referred to the Marathon County District Attorney, who on Nov. 24 filed four counts of possessing child pornography against Vlcek. He faces up to 100 years in the Wisconsin State Prison System if he is convicted of all four charges filed against him.
Vlcek, who is not in custody, is due in court Dec. 10 for an initial appearance.
