Wisconsin man, 52, sentenced to 15 years for computer sex crime

A 52-year-old Green County man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after trying to meet who he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex in the Northwoods.

After he was caught in a sting at a motel in Antigo, Gene B. Schneider of Albany led deputies on a chase through Langlade and Marathon counties before he crashed and was arrested earlier this year.

According to federal court records and the U.S. attorney's office, Schneider was exchanging texts and images with young people around the U.S. and Great Britain before he visited the Antigo hotel after communicating with a deputy posing online as a 13-year-old girl.

In July, Schneider pleaded guilty to getting an underage girl to send him photos of herself engaging in lascivious sexual behavior in 2016. His conviction was for sexual exploitation of a child.

His attorneys argued that the federal minimum mandatory sentence exposed Schneider to a punishment he might not have faced had he actually had sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl.

Schneider's attorney noted that since his release from prison in 1999, he found it very difficult to interact with women, so he fell into chatting online.  He was never married, and lived with his parents after his release, records indicate.

U.S. District Judge William Griesbach sentenced Schneider on Monday to the prison term, plus eight years of supervision after his release and ordered that he register as a sex offender.

Schneider was originally charged in Langlade County, but District Attorney Elizabeth Constable said she was happy to have federal authorities take over the case. 

While she dismissed state sex crimes, Schneider also faced about a dozen traffic violations in Langlade, Lincoln and Marathon counties stemming from his flight from authorities. Default judgments and fines totaling more than $1,750 were entered against him in August in Langlade County.  Tickets were dismissed in Lincoln County. 

Three tickets from the Marathon County portion of the chase remain pending.