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Area man charged with soliciting girl, 15, for sex

A 27-year-old Winsted man is facing five felony counts regarding the alleged solicitation of a 15-year-old girl for sex.
David James Venske was arrested Tuesday, Oct. 23, around 10:30 p.m. near the Cenex gas station on the 300 block of East 10th Street in Glencoe for allegedly attempting to have sex with the child. He was released on $300 cash/$3,000 bond bail and is due back in McLeod County District Court Dec. 21 for a first appearance on five counts. Terms of Venske’s release say he must continue to reside with his legal guardian and can’t have contact with any girls except his own daughter.
The charges include attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct, and two counts of electronic solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct. While the man accused of the crimes is very real, the victim is fictitious.
An Edgerton, Wis.-based group, Worldwide Predator Hunters (WPH), created “Katy,” a 15-year-old girl who exists only in the cyber world on a dating Web site, said Jay Pretty, WPH’s founder. The group created the profile of “Katy” to find adults willing to allegedly break the law by soliciting underage children for sex.
According to the criminal complaint against Venske, he exchanged text messages with “Katy” between Oct. 12 and Oct. 23 discussing many topics, including meeting for sex. Pretty said Venske and “Katy” allegedly exchanged about 100 text messages. The criminal complaint states “Katy” informed Venske she was 15 years old. It also alleges Venske sent “Katy” a photograph of his genitalia.
Pretty notified Glencoe police of the alleged text messages between “Katy” and Venske Oct. 22, the day before police arrested Venske. He notified police after Venske allegedly stated in one of his text messages he intended to have sex with “Katy,” according to the criminal complaint.

(For the complete story, see the Oct. 31 print edition of The Chronicle.)