From the 1:
On August 31, 2023, Cory J. Herthel (age: 40) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, pled guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2251(a).
Herthel will receive a federal prison sentence of at least 15 years when he is sentenced on December 4, 2023. He will also be required to register as a sexual offender under state and federal law.
According to a plea agreement filed in the case, in May of 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was contacted by the church where Herthel was employed as a pastor regarding information it had obtained indicating that Herthel possibly had been involved in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a minor living in Venezuela.
An ensuing investigation revealed that Herthel sent the child videos of himself masturbating, and at Herthel’s request, the minor sent similar videos and images to the pastor.
Herthel acknowledged knowing the minor from a mission trip he had taken to Ecuador, where he met the child begging on the streets. The child and the child’s mother had returned to their native Venezuela, and Herthel kept in touch with the child.
Herthel was confronted with images of him masturbating and acknowledged sending the videos to the child whom he knew to be a minor.
Herthel was also asked about sexually explicit images and masturbation videos that the child sent him. He acknowledged asking the child for the images and videos. He also acknowledged sending the child monetary payments via various online applications.
This freak made our tally upon his arrest back in June 2023.
Cory J. Herthel, a former pastor at the Green Bay #Wisconsin Seventh Day Adventist Church, “has been charged with attempted production of child pornography and transferring obscene material to a child.”https://t.co/hcE5RfcuJ5
— Jury File (@JuryFile) June 18, 2023
