In St. Clair County, a federal jury has delivered a guilty verdict against Dan R. Waeckerle, Jr., a 44-year-old man from Swansea, for the sexual exploitation of a minor. Waeckerle, who had been previously placed on the sex offenders registry, was found guilty of transferring obscene material to a minor, soliciting an obscene visual depiction of a minor, and committing an offense as a registered sex offender, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Sentencing for Waeckerle is set for May 21. Having already been convicted of aggravated sexual abuse against a minor in 2010, the perpetrator now faces a statutory minimum of 25 years in prison. His criminal history is aggravating that his future seems destined behind bars, serving a possible lengthy sentence for his crimes. "I’m grateful for the law enforcement agencies who investigated this case and pursued justice for Waeckerle’s victim and prevented other children from his abuse," said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe in the official announcement.
During the trial, evidence was presented showing that Waeckerle had engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a minor through text messages in July 2021, where he sent a nude image and requested the same from the minor, alongside discussions about meeting the minor for sex. O’Fallon Police Captain Mike Mojzis expressed gratitude for the training and resources provided by federal partners that aid in the success of such investigations, emphasizing the dedication of detectives to seeking justice for victims.
Condemning the actions of those who prey on children, Stephen S. Webster, Resident Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Springfield Resident Office, said, "The U.S. Secret Service remains committed to investigating and arresting individuals who sexually exploit children and transmit child sexual abuse material." Contributing to an end to the sexual exploitation of minors, multiple law enforcement agencies came together in this investigation, including the U.S. Secret Service Central and Southern Illinois Financial and Cyber Crimes Task Force, with frontline efforts by the O’Fallon Police Department.
The prosecution of Waeckerle was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at tackling the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Executed by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), the project coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to locate and prosecute internet offenders of child exploitation, along with identifying and rescuing victims.
