By Magen Kritsch | Daily Journal
For The Republic
FRANKLIN — The former president of Franklin College who was fired this week after his arrest in Wisconsin could face up to 68 years in prison after he sent sexually explicit messages, including photos, to an undercover officer posing as a 15 year old.
The Door County, Wisconsin district attorney on Wednesday charged Thomas J. Minar with child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a sex crime and exposing a child to harmful materials, all felonies that carry a maximum sentence of 68 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all counts and ordered to serve sentences separately, as well as up to $210,000 in fines.
An officer with the Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin police department said he was starting an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation, on Jan. 6. The officer created a profile on Grindr, which indicated he was a 19-year-old man named Tyler.
Grindr is a social media networking app geared toward the LGBTQ community, according to its website.
Minar is the college’s first openly gay president. The college announced on Monday that Minar had been fired as president.
On Jan. 6, the detective began chatting with Minar, who identified himself as a 53-year-old man, according to court documents filed Wednesday morning in the Door County Circuit Court.
Minar exchanged messages with the undercover officer, who eventually told Minar he was 15. Minar sent sexually explicit messages, including photos, to the officer throughout the day, and said he had a vacation home in the area, court documents said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
