MERRILL, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A long-haul truck driver from Merrill who sexually assaulted a child has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Registered sex offender Brian Wickersham, 60, took a child on a four-day trip from Wisconsin to Virginia and back. During the trip, officials say Wickersham sexually assaulted the child and pressured him to engage in increasingly aggressive sexual acts.
Officials say the trip ended at the “Country Express” truck stop in Bellevue when the child fled the truck to get help after Wickersham tried to sexually assault him again.
Brown County Sheriff’s deputies arrived to protect the child and found Wickersham hiding at a nearby hotel where he was taken into custody.
Wickersham has a long list of prior sex offenses:
- In 1994, Wickersham was previously convicted of first-degree sexual assault of a child in Milwaukee County for the repeated sexual assault of a four-year-old child.
- In 2008, Wickersham was convicted of “Sex Registry Violations” in Taylor County Circuit Court for repeated unsupervised contact with minor children and lying to investigators.
- In 2016, Wickersham was again convicted in Taylor County for “Knowingly Failing to Notify School Officials of Sex Offender Status.”
In handing down the sentence, Judge William Griesbach noted the horrendous nature of the crime and previous pattern of preying on children. He further stated his belief that a 20-year prison sentence was lengthy enough to protect the community given Wickersham’s advanced age.
Upon the completion of his federal prison sentence, the defendant will serve the remainder of his life on supervised release.
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