Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison for Using the Internet to Sexually Exploit a Minor in the Philippines
Thursday, May 14, 2026 - Bradley D. Hounsell, 44, of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was sentenced today to 13 years in prison, to be followed by seven years of supervised release, for using the internet to coerce and entice a minor in the Philippines to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.
According to court documents, Hounsell used an online social media platform to pay an individual in the Philippines for sexually explicit images and videos of children. In November 2023, this individual informed Hounsell that she had access to an approximately 13-year-old girl, and Hounsell asked to have the minor pose in sexually suggestive positions. Hounsell then offered to pay for a video of the individual penetrating the child’s genitals. After Hounsell sent her money, the individual sent Hounsell a video depicting an adult sexually abusing a nude child. At various points in their conversations, Hounsell offered to pay this individual money for additional images and videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children. Law enforcement recovered this video and other evidence of Hounsell’s criminal conduct from his phone during a warrant-authorized search of his home in Wisconsin. Hounsell was employed as a correctional officer with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections prior to his arrest.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad D. Schimel for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; Assistant Director Heith Janke of the FBI’s Criminal Division; and Special Agent in Charge Alan Karr of the FBI’s Milwaukee Field Office made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Operational Unit and Milwaukee Field Office with the assistance of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.
Trial Attorney William G. Clayman, formerly of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel R. Humble for the Eastern District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
Source: Justice.gov
