MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Josiah Creasey, 35, Darlington, Wisconsin was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 20 years in federal prison for using minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing videos and pictures of the conduct. This prison term is to be followed by a life term of supervised release. Creasey pleaded guilty to this charge on April 20, 2022.
Between 2017 and 2019, Creasey sexually assaulted two girls, beginning when they were 9 and 10 years old, and took videos and pictures of the assaults. During this same time, Creasey placed a hidden camera in a bathroom to capture nude images of the girls, and another young girl. Creasey was arrested in March 2021, after law enforcement officers investigated a tip that Creasey uploaded to the internet over 40 images of child pornography. Creasey was found in possession of a significant amount of child pornography, including the images and videos that he produced.
In sentencing Creasey, Judge Peterson wanted to send a message to the community and the victims that the Court takes this crime very seriously. The judge was also concerned that Creasey was a risk to reoffend because his sexual attraction to children dominated him, and he lacked self-understanding. Judge Peterson noted that Creasy had a long way to go to fully accept responsibility and that a 20-year sentence was appropriate, as was a life term of supervised release.
The charge against Creasey was the result of an investigation conducted by the Lafayette and Grant County Sheriffs’ Offices, Platteville Police Department, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura A. Przybylinski Finn prosecuted this case.