STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A 43-year old Merrill man is in the Lincoln County jail, facing five felony charges  related to internet crimes against a child. His arrest comes while Lincoln County deputies continue to investigate a complaint from the Internet Crimes against Children Task Force.

According to a press release, deputies took the man into custody Monday at his Town of Corning home. He is expected to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon in Lincoln County Court where bond will be set.

It is expected the district attorney will charge the man with repeated sexual assault of the same child, exposing genitals to a child, child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime and two counts of possession of child pornography.

An investigation revealed that the man allegedly developed a relationship with the child using social media and that resulted in crimes taking place in both Lincoln and Marathon Counties. The Marathon County Sheriff’s Office assisted in serving a search warrant at property in the Town of Hamburg and is awaiting reports from Lincoln County before forwarding similar charges to their district attorney.