For Hub City Times

WAUSAU — The Marathon County Sheriff’s Department and Wausau Police Department organized a local task force team to conduct an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) operation called KG Initiative. With the assistance of multiple agencies, this one-day undercover operation to identify and arrest persons who exploit children using the internet was conducted on Sept. 11, 2015.

The following are those arrested during this operation by the task force team, and their charges have been referred to the Marathon County district attorney’s office with initial appearances scheduled for Sept. 14, 2015, at 2 p.m.:

Nicholas Gosh, 18, from Stevens Point

Use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime

Child enticement

Bo Waalkens, 19, from Kaukauna

Contributing to the delinquency of a minor

Possession of THC

Possession of drug paraphernalia

Justin Hetzel, 32, from Pittsville

Use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime

Child enticement

Resisting arrest

All three individuals arranged to meet with a 14-year-old female.

The defendants are presumed innocent. The prosecution must prove its allegations at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

The ICAC program and its operations were developed in response to the increasing number of children and teenagers using the internet, the proliferation of child pornography, and heightened online activity by predators seeking unsupervised contact with potential underage victims.

The KG Initiative was named in honor of Lt. Kevin Gray. Before Gray’s passing, he was instrumental in arranging previous ICAC operations led by other departments. It was his initiative to train Marathon County Sheriff’s Department staff, team up with the Wausau Police Department, and build a forensic lab to provide the most efficient and enhanced proactive services to the residents of Marathon County.