Federal Charges Expected Against Shorewood Man Who Allegedly Solicited Teen

A 55-year-old Shorewood man could face federal charges, on top of existing state charges, , according to online court records.

Kenneth Johnson is being held on a $25,000 cash bond after he was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He allegedly attempted to meet what he thought was a 15-year-old Glendale boy — but was actually an undercover detective with the Milwaukee Police Department.

Johnson appeared in court Sept. 21 for a bond hearing; the defense motion was denied and the state informed Johnson and his attorneys, Kristin Hodorowski and Frank Schiro, that the federal goverment planned to file additional charges.

According to the criminal complaint, Johnson chatted with the undercover detective for hours via Yahoo Messenger, email and over the phone before trying to meet at Shorewood High School Aug. 2. Police would also later find thousands of images and thousands of videos of child pornography in his Shorewood home at 4172 N. Newhall Ave.

Milwaukee police started the sting after discovering an Aug. 2 Craigslist posting, in which Johnson said he was looking for a "son, no age limits." Johnson is not a registered sex offender, according to the state's online sex offender registry.

Johnson faces up to 40 years in prison and/or a $100,000 fine, if convicted under state the charges. He is do back in court Dec. 8 for a pre-trial.