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| WELS Synod President Mark Schroeder |
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Time line:
Thursday night, Schroeder "Together":
"We take allegations such as these very seriously and emphasize that WELS has absolutely no tolerance for the kind of behavior that has been alleged. Hochmuth’s employment with the synod has been suspended until the facts of the case are fully known."
Wednesday night, various news sources:
"The Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of WELS, said he learned about Hochmuth’s arrest Wednesday evening ... The church official knows limited details about Hochmuth’s arrest, he said, mostly gained from a police report and information in the media."
Tuesday, various news sources:
"A Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod employee was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges, according to Waukesha police."
"Hochmuth told authorities that the number of images found on his computer in Waukesha 'was nothing compared to what they would find in his office,' the complaint states."
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Criminal Complaint:
Tuesday:
...and officers obtained a warrant to search the defendant’s residence on November 15, 2011...
The defendant admitted to using the home computer in the
basement to upload and download these images at least once. At one point, the defendant’s wife caught
him viewing these images, and they had gone to counseling as a result...
Officers then executed a search warrant at the defendant’s office, and they located a computer as well as three thumb drives.
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by Michele McCormack
Story Created: Nov 18, 2011 CST
Story Updated: Nov 18, 2011
WAUKESHA- On Friday, Joel Hochmuth, the communications director of a local church group posted bail after being arrested on child porn charges.
Bail had been set at $20,000 Thursday after the 52 year old was formally charged with three counts of possessing child pornography.
Within hours, The Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, released the following statement:
"We immediately suspended Mr. Hochmuth after learning of this matter and effective today his employment was terminated. Communication duties have been reassigned internally, and we are moving forward with our work and our ministry.
"WELS holds it employees to high ethical and moral standards; we will not and cannot tolerate behavior that goes against these principles. As we've shared with our Church leadership nationwide, we continue to pray for all who have been affected by these events, and we are cooperating fully with the authorities as this matter works its way through the legal process."
The criminal complaint say Hockmuth admitted to struggling with a pornography problem.
His lawyer later qualified the statement that it was an adult porn addiction not child porn.
Investigators executive a search warrant on his Waukesha County home Wednesday and say they found multiple images of child porn.
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Criminal Complaint:
"The defendant stated that he has been struggling with an addiction to viewing pornographic photos and videos of young boys in sexually explicit poses."
