WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. — A former corrections officer faces felony charges for sexually exploiting and trafficking children.
40-year-old Samuel Pieper of Whitewater was charged on March 7 with wo counts of sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of trafficking of a child.
Tips received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children resulted in Pieper’s home being searched on March 6. The information included allegations of “suspected exploitation of children where money amounts were being transferred to suspected minors in exchange for videos or images in June and July of 2024”.
After Pieper’s arrest, he also resigned his position as a correctional officer at the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office.
In a statement from Walworth County Sheriff Dave Gerber:
Our agency received information that the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, received a cyber tip involving one of our employees. The Sheriff’s Office immediately took action and is cooperating with DCI in their investigation. DCI made an arrest for suspected sexual exploitation of a child. The suspect, Samuel Pieper, resigned from our agency during this process and is no longer employed by Walworth County.
DCI is continuing to investigate this case with the assistance of the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office and the Whitewater Police Department.
Our agency routinely investigates ICAC tips throughout our County and takes these very seriously. We hold our employees to the highest standard of conduct and do not tolerate this type of behavior under any circumstances. This incident does not reflect the hard work our employees perform every day to protect and serve our community. This is an isolated incident involving off-duty conduct, and our agency wants to ensure the public we are disgusted with this type of behavior and do not tolerate it.
Pieper made his initial appearance in court on March 7, where cash bond was set at $250,000.
There are no known local victims at this time. Anyone with information should contact the Wisconsin Department of Justice Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at (608) 266-1671.
