Clark County Sergeant Faces Child Abuse Charges in Taylor County

July 10, 2024

According to court documents, Jeremy Chapman blackmailed a teenage girl into sending him lewd photos and participating in video chats.

MEDFORD – A 39-year-old sergeant with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office is facing four felony charges after a 16-year-old girl reported that a man blackmailed and threatened her to obtain lewd images.

Jeremy D. Chapman of Spencer is charged in Taylor County with sexual abuse of a child, child enticement, threatening to disclose derogatory information and soliciting intimate acts of a minor.

Chapman appeared before District Court Commissioner Greg Krug on June 12. Krug ordered Chapman to sign a $10,000 bond and a $2,500 cash bond. Chapman was arraigned on July 1, and he made his first appearance on July 2.

According to the criminal complaint, a 16-year-old girl told a Taylor County detective that she accepted a Snapchat friend request from a man about a week or two before Christmas. The man told the teen his name was Caleb, he was from Wausau and he was a college student.

The girl said she sent the man pictures of her face, and he sent her a photo of a man who appeared to be college-aged, but the photo appeared to be old and was not taken using Snapchat, the complaint said. The girl said the photos “led to other things.”

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The girl said the man wanted pictures of her without clothes, the complaint says. She said she sent him pictures of herself in her bra and panties. The man had promised to send the girl money and gifts for sending the pictures, the complaint says. He never paid her or gave her any gifts.

The girl said the man wanted photos of parts of her body, including her breasts and buttocks, the complaint states. She said he knew how old she was because she told him she was 16 when they started chatting.

The girls said the man lied to them about many things and his story changed over time. She also told the investigator the man threatened and blackmailed her into sending him inappropriate photos and engaging in an online video chat program with him, the complaint states.

The girl said the man repeatedly threatened to send photos of her to school staff and show them to her school friends, the complaint states. She said the man also threatened to rape her and said he had raped another girl the year before.

The girl said she was on camera and on video during the video chats, but the sound was muted. The man did not have his camera on, so she never saw him on video. She said they texted back and forth while he also watched her on video, according to the complaint. The girl said the man gave her instructions and also told her to undress on camera.

The girl said she didn’t want to do those things, but she was scared. She deleted the man from her Snapchat account, but he added her back. The girl said the man apologized to her and said he was actually in his 50s, married, and had a daughter a year younger than the girl. He said his wife had died. A person claiming to be the man’s daughter befriended the girl and told her she was afraid of losing her father if the girl told the authorities about him.

The girl said the man asked her to go to the school’s locker room. He told her there was a group of men there waiting to attack her, the complaint states. The girl asked a friend to accompany her to the school office so she could report the man.

Police were able to trace the man’s IP addresses to Chapman’s house in Spencer, his parents’ house and Loyal City Hall. The detective went to Chapman’s house, but Chapman did not open the door and left his card. He also went to Chapman’s parents’ house in Marshfield and left his card there. Chapman called the detective to ask what was going on.

When the detective tried to arrange a meeting with Chapman, Chapman was evasive. When the detective told Chapman what was going on, Chapman said he would have time to talk to the detective or he would be suspended from his job.

The detective had heard a police radio in the background while he was on the phone with Chapman. Chapman told the detective he was a patrol officer with the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. The detective knew that would give Chapman access to Loyal City Hall’s internet, according to the complaint.

When officers checked Chapman’s computers and phones, they found searches related to changing IP addresses, as well as laws related to inappropriate behavior toward minors.

If convicted, Chapman faces a total of 72 years in prison, including a minimum of five years.

Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33