Editor's note: This story contains some content that readers may find disturbing.
OSHKOSH — An owner of a Menasha dog grooming business was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for his role in what a prosecutor said was "a child pornography ring that operated within our own community."
The judge gave Jacob Boudreau, 30, of Appleton, a prison sentence nearly double what the prosecutor, Winnebago County Assistant District Attorney Amanda Nash, recommended and five times the prison sentence Boudreau's attorney requested.
Boudreau, who owned Show Worthy Pet Salon & Boutique in Menasha, pleaded no contest in October to two counts of possessing child pornography.
Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rust sentenced Boudreau to 90 months of initial confinement followed by 90 months of extended supervision on each count, and ordered the sentences be served consecutively to each other and consecutive to any other sentence.
In effect, Boudreau will be about 45 when he is released from prison and around 60 when his extended supervision ends.
"There is significantly more culpability here than simple possession," Rust said.
Boudreau was arrested as part of an investigation that started in February 2024, when a Racine County Sheriff's deputy, while in uniform, was reported to be fondling and exposing himself to another person in a public gas station restroom.
The deputy, Preston Kite, of Union Grove, gave investigators permission to search his phone.
On the phone, investigators found numerous child pornography videos and messages related to them, according to a criminal complaint.
Among the videos were four child pornography videos of the same young child, sent over Snapchat from then-Outagamie County Human Resources Director Adam Westbrook.
Investigators then searched Westbrook's phone, where they found communication with Boudreau, through which Boudreau had shared child pornography material with Westbrook over Snapchat, according to a criminal complaint for Boudreau's case.
A search of Boudreau's Snapchat account found more child sexual abuse material and bestiality material, the complaint says.
Investigators then found additional child pornography images on Boudreau's phone during a search of his dog grooming salon.
While Boudreau was only convicted and sentenced to two counts of possessing child pornography, Rust said 14 images were taken into account when determining Boudreau's sentence and fines.
In March, investigators searched a home in the town of Center where Boudreau was living with then-20-year-old Noah Thiel.
There, they found "very unsanitary conditions" and four dogs, which were removed by the Fox Valley Humane Association, according to a criminal complaint against Thiel.
Through the search of Boudreau's Snapchat account and an interview with Thiel, investigators determined Thiel took videos of animal sexual abuse at the residence and sent them to Boudreau in February, the complaint says.
Nash said while Boudreau did not face any bestiality charges in Winnebago County, evidence existed to suggest Boudreau was involved in sexually abusing his dog, and charges were referred to Outagamie County.
No formal charges were ever filed, according to online court records.
However, Nash said she believed the evidence was important to discuss at sentencing because "it does speak to the defendant's willingness to act on his sexual deviance, which places him at a higher level of dangerousness than someone just downloading child pornography alone."
Thiel, Westbrook and Kite have all been convicted of sexual crimes and await sentencing.
Westbrook pleaded guilty in federal court in September to one count of distributing child pornography; Thiel pleaded guilty in Outagamie County Circuit Court in October to one count of distributing material depicting bestiality and one count of possessing material depicting bestiality; and Kite entered pleas to numerous crimes across two Racine County cases in November.
In one case, Kite pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing child pornography, one count of exposing genitals to a child and one count of conspiracy to engage in bestiality.
In the other case, he pleaded no contest to 10 counts of child sexual exploitation and five counts of possession of child pornography.
Thiel's sentencing is scheduled for Jan.
29, and Kite is scheduled to be sentenced for both cases Feb.
28. Westbrook's sentencing in the U.S.
District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin had not yet been scheduled.
He had a sentencing date set in December, but it was taken off the court calendar after he changed attorneys.
RELATED:Sentencing delayed for former Outagamie County HR director with federal child porn conviction
RELATED:3 additional men charged with sex crimes in investigation involving former Outagamie County employee
When given the opportunity to make a statement before the judge delivered his sentence, Boudreau thanked the judge and prosecutor for their time and said his incarceration so far has given him treatment that has allowed him to recognize "the cycle of abuse."
"Likely more than anyone else in this room, I am aware of the impacts of child sex abuse and child porn, as I was victimized by these very crimes," Boudreau said, his voice turning emotional.
"The embarrassment and shame and self-blame still continue to this day.
Turning to drugs and alcohol has long been my solution."
Character letters filed in the court from Winnebago County Jail's Sobriety Treatment Assisted Recovery, or STAR, program, indicate Boudreau was taking accountability for his actions and exhibiting growth.
Boudreau's attorney, John Miller Carroll, requested that Boudreau be sentenced to the state's mandatory minimum of three years in prison for possession of child pornography on each count, to be served concurrently.
He said with extended supervision and Boudreau's registration on the sex offender registry, Boudreau would be under adequate supervision in the community and was at a low risk to reoffend.
Carroll also claimed Westbrook and Kite "took advantage of" Boudreau and "brought him into this."
Rust strongly disagreed with Carroll's statements.
"The concept that this would be a mandatory minimum case is so far afield to honestly be laughable," Rust said.
The judge said the case was aggravated by a variety of factors, including that Boudreau has minimized his level of involvement and taken "little to no responsibility" for his actions, and that Boudreau tried to modify images and videos of child pornography to "hide their digital signature" and share them with others.
Rust said also said he was concerned by Boudreau's "actively engaging in sexual acts with an animal while in a position of trust with other people's animals."
As part of his extended supervision, Boudreau will be required to register as a sex offender in Wisconsin for the rest of his life and have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18 or with any animals, without prior approval from his parole agent.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com.
Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.