Chagnon sentenced to time served in 2024 case, other charges still pending

A 44-year-old Rhinelander man was sentenced to 18 months time served Thursday after pleading no contest to one count of failing to update sex offender information.
According to online court records, the sentencing hearing before Judge Mike Schiek resolved one of several pending felony cases against convicted sex offender Albert Chagnon. Three others, including a child trafficking case, remain on hold pending the assignment of a new defense attorney.
In early March, public defender attorney Breanna Magallones filed a motion to withdraw as Chagnon’s counsel, citing a breakdown in communication. Schiek did not immediately grant the motion, citing the length of time the cases against Chagnon have been pending. However, online court records show he granted the motion on Thursday morning after handing down the sentence in the 2024 case.
In the remaining cases, Chagnon is charged with one count of trafficking a child, 13 counts of possession of child pornography, failure to update sex offender information, bail jumping and encouraging a probation violation.
Last fall, Magallones filed a motion to suppress evidence in the trafficking/child pornography case, arguing law enforcement went beyond the scope of their search warrant when they accessed data gleaned from devices belonging to Chagnon. Schiek ultimately denied the motion.
Chagnon’s criminal history includes convictions for possession of child pornography in 2003, failure to maintain sex offender registry in 2010, failure to update sex offender information in 2013, violating state/county institution laws in 2014 and battery in 2018.
The 2014 case involved Chagnon clipping hundreds of photos of young girls and keeping them in a notebook while he was an inmate at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
Chagnon remains in custody in the Oneida County jail. He was sentenced to time served in the 2024 case because he received credit for 566 days spent in the facility since his arrest in 2024. His sentence in that case does include 18 months extended supervision.
A status conference in the remaining cases is scheduled for April.