Justin W. Craig (Left) Alexander L. Boatright (Right)
In a pair of separate cases, two men were arrested in Oconto County with child enticement crimes.
On Jan. 8, the Oconto Police Department was investigating a case regarding a runaway juvenile female and had also received a complaint to check on the welfare of a 30-year-old homeless man traveling to the city from the state of Oregon.
At 7:50 p.m., a city police officer located the man in a hotel room with the runaway female. The Oconto County Sheriff’s Department became involved and further investigation revealed that the male, identified as Justin Craig, had been communicating with the female over the internet for several months prior to his travels.
Craig was arrested and charged with child enticement by the District Attorney’s Office, currently being held in the Oconto County Jail.
The other case occurred on Jan. 12 when the Oconto Falls Police Department received information from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office, in reference to a 19-year-old male suspect traveling from Minnesota to meet with a 14-year-old female in Oconto Falls.
Shawano County Officials received the information from a vehicle crash follow-up in the county, where the suspect left the scene of the accident. Deputies made contact with the vehicle’s owner in Minnesota, who reported the vehicle as stolen.
According to the owner, the suspect was a relative that was likely headed to the Oconto Falls area to meet with a 14-year-old female. During the investigation, officers learned that the meet location was supposed to be in the Town of Abrams.
The suspect had been identified as Alexander Boatright of Maple Grove, MN and he was taken into custody after the Oconto Falls Police Department worked in conjunction with the Oconto County Sheriff’s Department.
During an interview with investigators, Boatright had admitted to meeting with the 14-year-old girl, whom he had established a relationship with over the internet over the past few months. Boatright had also indicated he intended to have sex with the girl and knew she was under the age of 16.
Boatright is being held on charges of child enticement and using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime at the Oconto County Jail.
The Oconto County Sheriff’s Department is pleased with the results of these investigations and that no one was physically harmed during the incidents.
They remind parents to always remember to monitor their child’s internet activity and whom they are communicating with over the internet.