Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 15 years in Prison for Exploitation of Oshkosh Minor

Brad D. Schimel, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on February 23, 2026, Zachary J. Vogt (age: 20) of West Chester, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Byron B. Conway following his conviction for Production of Child Pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a).

According to court documents, in October 2024, Vogt began corresponding online with a minor child located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The exchanges between the two quickly became sexual in nature. The child’s parents discovered the online activity and warned the minor and Vogt that all interaction must cease. Vogt ignored that warning. In June 2025, despite knowing that the child was underage, Vogt travelled from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin to engage in sexual activity with the child. Vogt sexually abused the child and recorded the abuse on his cellular phone. Law enforcement subsequently recovered the images, and Vogt was arrested.

In determining that 180 months’ imprisonment was an appropriate sentence, Judge Conway noted the incredibly serious nature of the offense and highlighted that the defendant had been warned to cease contact with the child. Judge Conway cited strong need to deter others from enticing children online and found a need to protect the public from online sexual predators like Vogt. Following the defendant’s release from federal prison, he will spend 15 years on supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sexual offender under state and federal law.

“This defendant is clearly a sick and dangerous individual,” said U.S. Attorney Schimel. “He was given the chance to terminate his online sexually explicit activity with the child but ignored that warning and escalated his criminal conduct by crossing multiple states to sexually exploit the child. The only way to keep the community safe from him is to lock him up. The law enforcement community has no higher priority than to protect our kids, and if you harm them, we are coming for you.”

This case was investigated by the City of Oshkosh Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.