UWM lecturer from St. Francis charged with 5 counts of possession of child pornography

Dennis Tomashek



MILWAUKEE -- A 54-year-old St. Francis man is charged with five counts of possession of child pornography. The accused is Dennis Tomashek.

According to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's website, Tomashek was hired by the university as a lecturer back in 2007.

A UWM spokeswoman issued this statement:

"The university is aware of the charges against Mr. Tomashek. The matter is being investigated, and appropriate personnel action is being taken, but I cannot discuss personnel matters."

According to the criminal complaint, a detective received a report on Monday, March 11 from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). It was regarding apparent child pornography coming from a Tumblr application associated with Tomashek.

The complaint says the detective reviewed the report and two photographs were identified as being inappropriate photos of a young girl.

A search warrant was then executed at Tomashek's residence in St. Francis on Wednesday, March 20. The complaint indicates "multiple electronics were obtained by officers, including a laptop that was taken from a desk in a spare bedroom of the residence." That laptop was examined by investigators. They found 14 images of child pornography on the device.

Tomashek was arrested at his residence during the execution of the search warrant. The complaint indicates "the defendant became incredibly emotional and said he wanted to die. The defendant repeatedly told officers he did not physically touch any children."

Tomashek made his initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Saturday, March 23. A bail/bond hearing is scheduled for March 27 -- and a preliminary hearing for April 1.

Each count against Tomashek comes with a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.