(This story was updated to add new information.)
A former Wisconsin Lutheran High School teacher will spend time in prison after he pleaded guilty in August to charges of child enticement and possession of child pornography.
Justin Liepert, 36, was sentenced Nov. 24 in Waukesha County Circuit Court to five years in prison: two years for one felony charge of child enticement and three years for one felony charge of possession of child pornography.
He will also spend six years on extended supervision, three years each on the child enticement and the child pornography charges.
He received credit for 282 days served. He is scheduled for a review hearing Feb. 23, 2026, according to online court records
Liepert was originally charged in February with three misdemeanor counts of sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older and one felony count of child enticement. In April, the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office filed an amended criminal complaint with 10 additional charges of felony possession of child pornography. In August, Liepert pleaded guilty to the two felony charges in exchange for dismissing the remaining charges.
Liepert’s attorney, Paul Bucher, said Liepert was in jail the entire time his case was pending in the courts, which kept Liepert from getting treatment. Bucher also said that Liepert accepted responsibility for his crimes from the first day Bucher spoke with him. He also said Liepert lost his job, got divorced and won’t be seeing his child for a long time.
“He’s a sex offender. He’s going to have to be registered for the rest of his life. He’ll be in sex offender programming. I don’t know where he’s going to reside because he can’t go back home because they’re divorced. His future life is uncertain, and hopefully he’ll get some treatment when he gets out. I don’t believe he’ll get much treatment while he’s in prison,” Bucher said in a phone interview Nov. 25.
According to the amended criminal complaint a 16-year-old student told police they had talked to a man on social media that the student described as a “married, Lutheran school teacher with a young son,” who was later identified as Liepert. The two arranged to meet at the student’s home and engaged in sexual acts three or four times in early 2024 in Liepert’s vehicle. Liepert parked his vehicle away from the student’s home. He also sent the student a sexually explicit video of him and another younger male engaging in a sexual act, the complaint said.
State law says children younger than 18 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.
In February, police seized several electronic devices, including Liepert’s phone and a laptop as part of a search warrant. They discovered two videos appearing to depict child sexual assault material on Liepert’s phone and photos of children engaging in sexual acts on the laptop, according to the amended complaint.
Status of other cases tied to Liepert’s
The same victim in Liepert’s case also spoke separately to two other men, Eric Prucha and Calvin Trail, on social media, according to a criminal complaint listing both cases together. Online court records show Prucha’s and Trail’s cases are connected to Liepert’s case.
Prucha, 36, of West Allis, was charged in February in Waukesha County Circuit Court with a felony count of causing a child older than 13 to view/listen to sexual activity.
Police alleged Prucha sent the same victim naked photos of himself, a video of himself exposing his private parts, as well as a video of himself engaged in a sexual act with another man. The victim told police they had never met Prucha and only communicated via apps, according to the criminal complaint.
In October, Prucha pleaded guilty to the charge. A sentence of 1½ years in prison and 1½ years on extended supervision was stayed, and he was ordered to serve 2½ years of probation, along with 135 days in the Waukesha County Jail, 45 of those days served straight, 45 days served with release and the rest suspended. He must also register as a sex offender for 15 years, according to online court records.
Like Liepert and Prucha, Trail was also charged in February in Waukesha County Circuit Court. Trail faces two charges: one felony count of second-degree sexual assault of a child younger than 16 and one felony count of causing a child older than 13 to view/listen to sexual activity. The criminal complaint also alleged that Trail performed sexual acts on the victim and sent the victim inappropriate videos of himself.
Trail pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to a lesser felony count of third-degree sexual assault and the felony count of causing a child older than 13 to view/listen to sexual activity was dismissed and read into the record, according to online court records. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 4.
Trail also is facing five charges in Jefferson County: one felony count of child enticement, one felony count of exposing his genitals to a child, one felony count of child sexual exploitation and two misdemeanor counts of sexual intercourse with a child 16 or older. That case is still pending. A final status/scheduling conference is scheduled for Dec. 11 and a 12-person jury trial is scheduled to begin either Dec. 18 or Dec. 19, according to online court records.
Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Wisconsin Lutheran teacher sentenced to five years in prison
Reporting by Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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