Child sex offender accused; hired to photograph 'Mary Poppins' show
Jacob Anderson
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - A 25-year-old Okauchee man who is a registered child sex offender faces new charges after he accepted a job to take photographs and video of a children's theater production of "Mary Poppins" in December 2023. The accused is Jacob Anderson – and he faces the following criminal counts:
- Child sex offender working with children
- Knowingly fail to notify school of sex offender status-1st offense
According to the criminal complaint, Oconomowoc police investigated on Thursday, April 18 a complaint regarding a person who was a registered sex offender that had been hired as a photographer. A witness told police "she had hired Anderson as a photographer for children's theater productions that had been performed in December 2023 and had not been aware of his status at that time," the complaint says. Officials determined this was a violation of Anderson's probation and he was taken into custody -- as he was not allowed to work with children.
The witness told investigators Anderson was hired to take photos of children when they performed "Mary Poppins" in December at a church located on Brown Street in Oconomowoc. The witness indicated Anderson had been "recommended to her by another member of the church and that he had previously done photography work at the church," the complaint says.
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Anderson was hired to take individual and group cast photos as well as to video record the performances with "a total of four separate cast groups of about 40 children at each group," the complaint says. The age groups were kindergarten through 11th grade. The witness told investigators Anderson was aware "the work would involve children's theater productions and that the age range of the children involved was made clear to him," the complaint says.
The witness told police she had become aware of Anderson's sex offender status after another member of the church told her about it in March. The witness indicated she tried to verify the information but "it was difficult to confirm due to 'Jacob Anderson' being a common name," the complaint says. The witness was eventually able to confirm the status.
The witness provided investigators with a digital flash drive containing text messages and email between her and Anderson, signed contracts, playbills listing the cast and crew members at the church and school performances, and two full cash photographs taken by Anderson. The witness was "not able to access the video recordings of the performances at this time, even though the contract specifies that all the recordings are to become her property upon completion of Anderson's work," the complaint says.
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Anderson made his initial appearance in Waukesha County on these new charges on Wednesday, May 1. Cash bond was set at $5,000.