BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
Merrill’s Russell Dettmering, who is best known locally for his stand-out high school golfing record and winning the WIAA Division 1 State Championship title in 2019, has been charged with four felony counts in Lincoln County.
On March 20, 2024, Dettmering was charged with two counts of exposing a child to harmful material and one count of possession of child pornography.
If convicted, the first two charges each carry a penalty of up to a $10,000 fine and/or prison terms of up to 3 years, 6 months, per count. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a penalty of up to a $100,000 fine and/or up to 25 years in prison, if convicted. Additionally, there may be a surcharge of up to $500 per image for each image or copy of an image associated with the crime. And Wis. Stat. 939.617 states that, if convicted, the court shall impose a bifurcated sentence including a term of initial confinement of at least three years.
These three charges stem from allegations that Dettmering, who was 21 years old at the time, was sending photos of his naked genitalia to two separate Lincoln County girls in October 2023 via Snapchat. The girls were then ages 16 and 14, respectively. One of the girls alleges Dettmering asked for naked photos of her breasts and she sent photos back, while the other girl said she refused a similar request. The complaint filed in this case alleges Dettmering was aware that at least one of the girls was a minor, at one point saying “I wish you were older,” to the girl, accompanied by one of the inappropriate photos he sent her.
According to the criminal complaint on file, when law enforcement interviewed Dettmering, he did not deny exchanging photos with the girls.
Dettmering retained Attorney Wright C. Laufenberg of Laufenberg Law Offices in Merrill to represent him in April and made his initial appearance in this matter last week. Judge Robert Russell set a cash bond of $250 in this case, which Dettmering posted on May 22. In addition, the court said Dettmering, as a condition of his bond, is to have no contact with the victims or their residences, no electronic communication with any minors, and no contact with any minors except for incidental contact in a public place, or while the minor is within sight and sound of an adult relative. The court granted an exception for the defendant’s siblings.
The matter is set for a telephone scheduling conference on June 20 in Lincoln County Court Branch 2.
Additional more serious charges filed
On May 17, 2024, in a separate case, an additional, even more serious. felony count of second degree sexual assault of a child was filed against Dettmering, along with a misdemeanor charge of resisting or obstructing an officer. These charges appear to be unrelated to the March charges and pertain to allegations made by a third girl. Conviction on this felony count carries with it a fine of up to $100,000 and up to 40 years in prison or both, while the additional misdemeanor charge is punishable with a fine of up to $10,000 or up to nine months in prison or both, if convicted.
The Merrill Police Department took a report of the alleged sexual assault on Dec. 13, 2023, which alleges that Dettmering may have been sexually active with the victim during the summer of 2023. The alleged victim in this case was 15 years old during the summer of 2023 and December 2023, while Dettmering was 21 years old during this timeframe, and the reporting victim alleged she “was dating Dettmering for 2-3 months in the summer of 2023. Victim stated this was a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship,” according to the complaint. She also alleged they had been sexually active more than five times during this timeframe.
In an interview with law enforcement, Dettmering denied being in a relationship with the girl and made other statements that were inconsistent with statements made by other witnesses in the case, according to the complaint.
Dettmering also made an initial appearance on this charge in Lincoln County Court Branch 2 on May 22, where cash bond was also set at $250 and his release was subject to the same conditions as set forth in the prior case.
The telephone scheduling conference set for June 20 will also include matters pertaining to this case.
Innocent until proven guilty
This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.