Accused former Pastor enters no contest pleas

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

A former Twin Lakes pastor entered two no contest pleas in Winnebago County Circuit Court Thursday, after a state Supreme Court decision dealt a blow to his defense, according to a Winnebago County prosecutor.

Rev. Josh Scheil, formerly of Hope Lutheran Church, originally faced three felony charges, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, child enticement and cause a child 13-18 to view sexual activity stemming from an April 12 arrest in Oshkosh.

“He pled no contest to counts two and three,” said Winnebago County Deputy District Attorney Scott Ceman. “I agreed to dismiss and read in for sentencing count one.”

Josh Scheil
Josh Scheil

Citing another case before the State Supreme Court, Rory McKellips vs. State, Scheil’s defense challenged the use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime charge, noting the law had been vague.

“It’s a motion to dismiss the computer facilitated sex crime charge based on the defense position that the cellular phone and the application used by Scheil does not constitute a computerized communication system under the law,” Ceman said in June.

“They also allege it is unconstitutional as overly vague in that description,” he added.

Scheil, in Oshkosh attending a pastor’s conference, allegedly set up a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old, known as Maddy, starting with an instant message March 1.

However, the 13-year-old was a crime analyst with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Internet Crimes Division, who repeatedly identified himself as a 13-year-old girl in all dialogues, according to a criminal complaint.

After the first contact March 1, both parties agreed to continue the conversation on KiK Messenger, the complaint added.

Leading up to his arrest, Scheil allegedly sent sexually explicit comments and images on multiple occasions, and told the analyst posing as a girl named “Maddy” that he will be in Oshkosh from April 11 through 13.

On April 12, Scheil was arrested at Asylum Point when he allegedly set up a meeting with the analyst.

In regards to the McKellips case, the blow came June 30, when the high court ruled against former Athens High School basketball coach Rory McKellips, according to the Wausau Daily Herald.

McKellips, accused of inappropriately texting a girl he coached, challenged a lower court ruling, stating his flip-style cellular phone did not constitute a computer as defined under the facilitate a child sex crime charge.

The Daily Herald reported that McKellips was convicted in 2013 of using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and obstructing police, sentenced to 10 years prison, but a lower court overturned the conviction on appeal.

The full story will appear in the July 29 edition of the Westosha Report


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