Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography Outside of the United States

Jeffrey H. Ernisse, 63, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for producing and possessing child pornography in 2015 and engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in the Philippines between 2014 and 2015.  U.S. District Court Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the Eastern District of Wisconsin ordered the sentence to run consecutive to a state sentence on which Ernisse has another three years to serve, and will be followed by ten years of supervised release.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Krueger of the Eastern District of Wisconsin made the announcement.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, while law enforcement was investigating Ernisse for production of child pornography in Wisconsin, they discovered evidence of additional child pornography production from the Philippines on Ernisse’s digital devices.  He traveled to the Philippines in June 2014 and married a woman he met on the internet.  He sexually assaulted her four-year-old daughter and then recorded the sexual assaults on March 10, 2015 and April 17, 2015.

“Across the world, predators like Jeffrey Ernisse are exploiting children and sharing those despicable acts with others online.  This case demonstrates our commitment to pursue justice against predators, wherever the case leads.  We must use every tool available to confront child sex abuse,” stated U.S. Attorney Krueger.   

The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the cooperation of the Sheboygan Police Department.  Former Trial Attorney William M. Grady of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan J. Paulson of the Eastern District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case.

This investigation is a 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 Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.