La Crosse man facing child sex crime charges

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - A La Crosse man is facing child sex crime charges.

A criminal complaint shows 44-year-old Jeremiah Midstokke is facing charges of count 1: use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, repeater, count 2: attempt sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age, repeater, count 3: possession of methamphetamine, repeater, and count 4: possession of a controlled substance, repeater.

According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 16, 2023, an investigator was actively conducting undercover chat conversations on the social media application called Telegram and took on the persona of a 15-year-old girl.

The account received a message from a person identified on Telegram as “Jeremiah.”

According to the criminal complaint, a chat conversation took place and the person with the account name “Jeremiah” agreed to meet at a location with whom he thought to be the 15-year-old girl. Once he arrived at the location, officers made contact with him to take him into custody.

The man identified as Midstokke had the Telegram chat still open on his phone’s screen and the last messages could still be seen. Suspected ecstasy and methamphetamine was found on his person, according to the criminal complaint.

According to the criminal complaint, Midstokke was taken to the La Crosse County Jail and later released to jail staff.

A court appearance is scheduled for March 15, 2023.