In a decisive clampdown against child sexual offenders, Dan R. Waeckerle, Jr., a 45-year-old man from Swansea, has been sentenced to over 40 years in federal prison following a jury's verdict finding him guilty of heinously exploiting a minor, as the Department of Justice announced yesterday. Waeckerle's history as a registered sex offender with a prior conviction did little to deter his repeat offenses, leading to his current 485-month sentencing by a federal judge, accompanied by a life term of supervised release and a fine of $1,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated, “Child predators like Waeckerle leave their victims with lasting trauma, and this significant prison sentence sends a strong message to abusers,” U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe expressed the resolve of law enforcement to protect children, Waeckerle’s sentencing underscored by his reprehensible sexual conversations via text with a 15-year-old in July 2021 and his attempts of soliciting explicit images and arranging a sexual rendezvous with the minor. The grave nature of his offenses was highlighted when the evidence presented at trial revealed the transfer of obscene material to the minor and the demand for the same in return.
The concerted efforts of various agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service Central and Southern Illinois Financial and Cyber Crimes Task Force with the O’Fallon Police Department at the helm of this investigation, signified a multi-layered approach to combating such cyber-facilitated crimes. "We are proud to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to help keep children safe from predators," Acting Supervisor David Bolin of the U.S. Secret Service Springfield Resident Office said, emphasizing ongoing collaborations aimed at protecting youths from future harm.
After Waeckerle's guilt was established he had previously faced conviction in Hamilton County in 2010 for aggravated criminal sexual abuse against a minor, the current conviction further cements law enforcement's dedication to the protection of the vulnerable, reflecting through the services mobilized by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Zoe Gross who prosecuted the case, their endeavor—a part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started in 2006 by the Department of Justice, aims to aggressively target and dismantle the networks of abuse and exploitation that plague the internet and snatch the innocence of the unsuspecting.
