Virginia-area man who groomed a child online and sexually assaulted her after moving to Wisconsin receives 20 years in federal prison
Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 23, 2023, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Stanley J. Seifert III (age: 45) to a total sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, followed by 20 years’ supervised release, and a lifetime sex-offender registration after Seifert pled guilty to child enticement and receiving child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2252A and 2422.
According to court records, when Seifert was living in Virginia, he met a then-15-year-old from Wisconsin in an online game platform. Unknown to the child’s parents, Seifert groomed her for months, including sexually explicit chats and live videos of child pornography. Seifert moved to Green Bay in July 2022 to be closer to the victim. Soon thereafter, Seifert bought the victim a phone and began surreptitiously picking her up for sexual encounters in a secluded wooded area. The child’s mother first learned of Seifert’s existence and conduct when she went into the child’s room and interrupted a live video where Seifert was directing the child to perform sexually explicit acts. Officers were immediately contacted and began investigating. They found and arrested Seifert in Michigan, where he was working for his Wisconsin-based employer, a job he recently obtained to move closer to the victim.
Seifert was extradited to Wisconsin by the Kewaunee County District Attorney’s Office, and Seifert remained in continuous custody as state and federal prosecutors worked collaboratively toward the outcome.
In sentencing Seifert, Judge Griesbach emphasized that Seifert targeted, groomed, and sexually assaulted the child, with an obviously devastating impact and loss of her childhood, and potentially residual impact going forward into adulthood. The judge said that Seifert’s conduct called for strong punishment and the need to protect the public from him, as well as the broader deterrent message for others contemplating similar conduct.
United States Attorney Haanstad said, “The United States Department of Justice has made the protection of our nation’s children a top priority through Project Safe Childhood and other efforts. Prosecutions like this one promote that critically important goal.” He added: “Anyone involved in the enticement of children, including anyone who travels for the purpose of meeting with a child for sexual purposes, will be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Kewaunee County District Attorney Andrew P. Naze stated “I applaud the hard work of all the local law enforcement agencies that worked to bring Mr. Seifert to justice, especially the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s office and Inv. Vandermoss for their diligent investigation and apprehension of Mr. Seifert. AUSA Funnell and the FBI should be applauded for their work in securing a just sentence for Mr. Seifert as well.”
The investigation was spearheaded by the Kewaunee County Sheriff’s Department, with critical assistance from the Brown County Sheriff’s Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Michigan State Police ICAC, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Green Bay. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy W. Funnell.
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.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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