WASHBURN COUNTY -- The Court has sentenced a Spooner, WI man on his criminal case which stemmed from an investigation by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) into the alleged upload of an image of child pornography to the internet.
On June 5, 2019, DrydenWire.com published a press release from the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force which stated that Jeffrey Vesta, of Spooner, WI had been arrested for suspected possession of child pornography.
On June 21, 2019, DrydenWire.com published an update after a criminal complaint was filed against Vesta charging him with Class D Felony Possession of Child Pornography. The criminal complaint stated that DCI received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) regarding the upload of an image of child pornography. The subsequent investigation into the IP address linked with the upload led investigators to Vesta’s Spooner, WI residence.
At the time of the incident, Vesta stated to authorities that he was the pastor of a small church in Minong, WI and prior to that had been a teacher for years. He denied having any inappropriate relations with any students or church members.
At a hearing on September 29, the Court sentenced Vesta on a conviction for an amended charge of Class I Felony Exposing Genitals/Pubic Area/Intimate Parts to a Child, according to online circuit court records. The charge against Vesta was amended at a hearing in July 2020, but details as to the reason for the amendment were not included in the online court record.
The Court sentenced Vesta to 3 years of probation with an imposed and stayed sentence of 1 1/2 years of confinement to be followed by 2 years of extended supervision should Vesta’s probation be revoked. Vesta is to serve 90 days conditional jail, with no Huber privileges.
Conditions of probation prohibit Vesta from having any unsupervised contact with minor children unless immediate family. Vesta was also ordered to participate and complete all counseling services the Department of Corrections imposes. Further conditions prohibit Vesta from possessing any type of pornography and he may not have access to the internet unless approved by the Department of Corrections agent.
Vesta will have to register as a sex offender for 15 years.
Last Update: Oct 04, 2020 9:20 am CDT
