Repeat child sex offender caught in Outagamie County undercover operation

WISCONSIN – (WGBW & WISS) – Thanks, in part, to the investigation of an undercover officer from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, a repeat child sex offender is behind bars once again.

41-year-old David J. Fuchs will spend 25 years in federal prison for attempting to sexually exploit a child.

US District Judge William Griesbach sentenced 41-year-old David J. Fuchs to 25 years in federal prison this week for attempting to sexually exploit a child.

The investigation

Court records show Fuchs engaged in conversation with an undercover law enforcement officer from Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office. That officer posed as a 12-year-old online.

During the conversations, Fuchs repeatedly described his desire to have sex with the child. He sent multiple explicit photos and asked for photos from her. He made it clear that he understood the girl was still in school. 

On March 15, 2024, Fuchs drove to a travel plaza in Madison intending to meet the 12-year-old girl. United States Marshals Service arrested him there. 

“This is one more great example of local law enforcement partnering together to actively target those who threaten the safety of our children,” Captain Nathan Borman of the Outagamie Sheriff’s Department said in an email. “Our continued partnership with the US Attorney’s Office to obtain expedient justice in these cases provides hope to our communities that these crimes can be prevented.”

Court records further state the undercover officer from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office also talked with Fuchs using a different undercover identity. In that conversation, Fuchs offered to pay $100 to have sex with a 7-year-old.

Fuchs was also talking to undercover officers from the Madison Police Department, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fox Valley Metro Police Department who were posing online as underage girls. 

Fuchs is a repeat child sex offender. He is a registered sex offender with prior convictions for attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of an intoxicated victim.