Prior Sex Offender Who Repeatedly Sexually Assaulted a Child and Produced Child Pornography Receives 25 Years in Federal Prison

Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on October 6, 2025, Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Rodney A. Hanes (age: 59) to 25 years' imprisonment, to be followed by life on supervised release, after Hanes pled guilty to child enticement and producing child pornography, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2422 and 2251.

According to court records, in June 2024, then 58-year-old Hanes, who was previously convicted of felony sexual assault in 1995, was living in Manitowoc County when he met a 14-year-old female from Outagamie County on Snapchat. Hanes subsequently picked up the victim during the nighttime hours near her home, took her to a parking lot, and sexually assaulted her. For the next seven months, Hanes continued to sexually assault the victim at locations in Outagamie and Brown County, including after-hours at his workplace. Hanes also supplied the victim with methamphetamine and took numerous pictures and videos of the sexual assaults. In January 2025, the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department received a tip, immediately investigated it, and arrested Hanes at his workplace. Law enforcement also seized his phone, which contained child pornography that he had produced.

At his sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach emphasized the severity of Hanes's conduct in targeting a child, and that a lengthy prison term was needed to achieve just punishment, deterrence, and protection of the public.

The case was investigated by the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006, by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.