WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) -- One of the five area men arrested as part of an online sexual predator sting will likely enter into a plea deal early next year.
59-year-old Dennis Rice of Merrill had a court appearance yesterday, and Marathon County Judge Jill Falstad set a plea hearing for January 9th and sentencing for April 2nd. Rice is charged with using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He was arrested in late March when undercover police officers posted advertisements online to sites like Craigslist and Backpage.
It was called Operation Vanguard, and involved over 75 police officers from central and eastern Wisconsin. The effort caught men trying to arrange sex with underaged girls in the Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh and Wausau areas.
Rice is a city of Wausau Department of Public Works employee. He has been on unpaid leave since his arrest. He could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
The other men arrested in the March sting were 44-year-old Todd Jelinski of Schofield, 36-year-old Steve Krall of Stratford, 51-year-old Jeffrey Beckman of Rosholt, and 19-year-old Peter Galioto of Wausau.