Disturbing news out of the Badger State on Tuesday after a roofing contractor was sentenced on a conviction of child enticement stemming from charges filed against him in Washburn County, Wis., Circuit Court last March.
Following a guilty plea in June, the court handed down a 25-year sentence to James Emerson, president of Rice Lake, Wis.-based ReNew Roofing: 15 years will be served in state prison, followed by a decade of extended supervision.
Last January, a Washburn County Sheriff’s Investigator received a state Children’s Protective Services report regarding a juvenile victim indicating that the underage victim had said Emerson had been “touching [her] with his tongue, hands, and [genitals].”
The juvenile stated that Emerson had been touching “down there” and pointed to her genitals. The report noted that Emerson had access to a shop where he would take the juvenile victim to exercise.
The report also informed the Investigator of an office location in Rice Lake, Wis., for Emerson’s roofing company, ReNew Roofing.
During a forensic interview of the victim in January, investigators were advised that Emerson had retained counsel despite not being aware law enforcement had been contacted.
A criminal complaint filed in March describes a lengthy forensic interview during which the juvenile victim displayed indications of great distress while answering questions.
Due to the sensitive nature of the case and the graphic nature of the allegations, details of what the child victim stated during the forensic interview have been omitted. However, the interview corroborated what the child had told law enforcement. It included information that the young victim had endured years of assault by Emerson, beginning when the child was younger than 10, on multiple occasions and had exposed her to sexually explicit videos.
Following the criminal complaint, Emerson was charged with two counts of Class D Felony Child Enticement - With Intent to have Sexual Contact and released on a $100,000 bond pending trial.
Emerson appeared in court on June 3, 2024, for a hearing, and Judge Winton accepted his guilty plea to one count of Class D Felony Child Enticement. The remaining charge was dismissed but read in for consideration at sentencing.
Emerson appeared for his sentencing hearing on Sept. 17, 2024, where the court followed Washburn County District Attorney Aaron Marcoux’s recommended sentence. Defense counsel argued for a far less severe punishment, asking the court for a sentence that included five years of initial incarceration followed by 10 years of extended supervision.
Hon. Angeline Winton, overseeing the case, ordered Emerson to serve 15 years of initial incarceration in state prison; DrydenWire, a Wisconsin online news site, first reported this story.
