Wausau Woman Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography

Acting United States Attorney Richard G. Frohling of the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced that on July 7, 2021, Natalie J. Ticho (age: 25) of Wausau, Wisconsin, appeared in federal court in Green Bay and pled guilty to a single-count information charging her with distribution of child pornography.

As detailed in a plea agreement filed in the case, Ticho distributed sexually explicit images of a 7-year-old child and engaged in conversations online about child pornography. Unbeknownst to Ticho, she was communicating with an undercover law enforcement officer. Her arrest and subsequent conviction were part of Operation Kick Boxer, a collaborative effort involving the Milwaukee Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office. (https://go.usa.gov/xfPHh).   

Ticho will be sentenced on October 12, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. before Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach.  Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, Ticho will receive a 90-month federal prison sentence.  She will also be required to register as a sexual offender.

This case was investigated by the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI’s Milwaukee and Green Bay Offices, with the assistance of the Wausau Police Department and the Marathon County District Attorney’s Office.  It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel R. Humble.

This case was also 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.

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For further information contact: Public Information Officer

Kenneth.Gales@usdoj.gov

(414) 297-1700

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