Village of Pewaukee officers solve disturbing crime; honored for action
PEWAUKEE, Wis. - The Village of Pewaukee Police Department may be small, but it is cracking big cases.
The Wisconsin "Internet Crimes Against Children" conference took place this week in Appleton. More than 300 people from across the nation gathered for training to stop online child abuse.
The task force awarded Village of Pewaukee Officers Julie Buddenhagen and Larisa Mayek "Case of the Year" after solving a complex and disturbing crime.
"We recovered numerous cameras," said Village of Pewaukee Police Chief Timothy Heier.
Village of Pewaukee Police Chief Timothy Heier
Heier said Mark Kobasic secretly videotaped underage girls.
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"When did it become obvious it was part of something even larger than the Village of Pewaukee?" asked FOX6's Bret Lemoine.
"We just had initially one cyber tip and the investigation grew," Heier said.
Mark Kobasic
Kobasic shared the videos online. Officers Buddenhagen and Mayek kept digging. It led to more arrests and convictions across the country.
"We were able to notify with help from the FBI and other federal agencies that two gentlemen from Texas were involved and another in Tennessee," Heier said.
In February, Kobasic entered a guilty plea to six felonies – including second-degree sexual assault and child sexual exploitation.
Heier said child sex predators should know the officers are a mighty force.
Village of Pewaukee Police Chief Timothy Heier
"You may be operating in anonymity under the cloak of darkness, but realize, police are watching you," Heier said.
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Kobasic was originally charged with 17 felony counts. Those include:
- Possession of child pornography (seven counts)
- Child sexual exploitation (six counts)
- Capture an intimate representation (three counts)
- Second-degree sexual assault/unconscious victim
In February, Kobasic pleaded guilty to six of those counts. The other 11 charges were dismissed and read into the court record for the purposes of sentencing.
Kobasic will be back in court soon for sentencing. He could spend the rest of his life in prison.