Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that Rodney A. Hanes, 59, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to child enticement and producing child pornography. The sentencing took place on October 6, 2025, before Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach.
Court records indicate that in June 2024, Hanes—who had previously been convicted of felony sexual assault in 1995—was living in Manitowoc County when he met a 14-year-old girl from Outagamie County through Snapchat. Hanes picked up the victim at night near her home and sexually assaulted her in a parking lot. Over the following seven months, he continued to sexually assault the victim at various locations in Outagamie and Brown counties, including his workplace after hours. During this period, Hanes also provided methamphetamine to the victim and documented the assaults with photos and videos.
In January 2025, authorities from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department received a tip about Hanes's activities. They conducted an immediate investigation that led to his arrest at his workplace. Law enforcement officers seized Hanes’s phone and found child pornography that he had produced.
At sentencing, Judge Griesbach stated: "The severity of Hanes’s conduct in targeting a child requires a lengthy prison term to achieve just punishment, deterrence, and protection of the public."
The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case.
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006—to address child sexual exploitation and abuse by coordinating federal, state, and local resources for investigating and prosecuting offenders as well as identifying victims. More information is available at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
