On Wednesday, August 11, a federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, indicted a Merrill man on charges of producing and transporting child pornography.
According to a press release from the Office of Acting U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea for the Western District of Wisconsin, U.S. Department of Justice, 40-year-old Jason D. Ridolfi of Merrill is charged with two counts of using a minor to produce child pornography and one count of transporting child pornography. The indictment alleges that on August 30 and 31, 2017, Ridolfi used a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. The indictment further alleges that on October 20, 2020, Ridolfi transported a visual image of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct into a Google account.
If convicted, Ridolfi faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison on each of the production charges, and a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years on the transportation charge. The charges against him are the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and Kenosha Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman is handling the prosecution.