MADISON — David J. Fuchs, 41, formerly of Janesville, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in federal prison for attempting to sexually exploit a child, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to court records, Fuchs engaged in a conversation with an undercover law enforcement officer from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office who was posing online as a 12-year-old girl.
During the conversation, Fuchs repeatedly described his desire to have sex with the child, sending multiple explicit photographs of himself and requesting explicit photographs from the undercover officer, according to the criminal complaint.
Investigators say Fuchs planned to meet the girl at a travel plaza near Madison, Wisconsin, and he promised to bring her art supplies.
On March 15, 2024, Fuchs arrived at a travel plaza with the intention of meeting a 12-year-old girl.
The United States Marshals Service placed him under arrest.
Court records further indicate that the undercover officer from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office also talked to Fuchs using a different undercover identity.
Fuchs was also talking to undercover officers from the Madison Police Department, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fox Valley Metro Police Department, who were posing online as underage girls.
Fuchs is a registered sex offender with prior convictions for attempted second degree sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of an intoxicated victim.
This case was investigated by the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office, the Fox Valley Metro Police Department, and the Madison Police Department, with assistance from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation.
