A convicted sex offender has been charged with visiting Circle of Friends Learning Center
A man on the sex offender registry with an open case against him alleging possession of child pornography is now facing charges for frequenting a Menasha child care center.
Trevor Schutt, 30, of Shawano, was charged this summer in Calumet County Circuit Court with felony bail jumping and using a name other than what he's identified as on the sex offender registry. The charges are in connection with visits he is accused of making to Circle of Friends Learning Center while his girlfriend was working.
His girlfriend, Azucena Martinez, 26, of Appleton, was also charged in Calumet County, with identifying Schutt by a different name, as a party to a crime. She also faces three counts of child neglect. All the charges against her are felonies.
According to the criminal complaints, witnesses said Schutt repeatedly visited Circle of Friends beginning in about December 2022 while Martinez was working in the evenings. Multiple employee witnesses said Schutt would wait to enter the center until the person in charge left for the day.
A video taken in mid-January that police found on Martinez’s cell phone showed Schutt at Circle of Friends riding a bicycle while three toddler-aged children were present, the complaint said. One employee said they believe Schutt may have briefly been alone with children on one occasion while Martinez stepped out.
The complaint against Martinez says that as someone responsible for the children's welfare, she "negligently endangered the children" by allowing visits to the center by Schutt, whom she knew was a registered sex offender. The complaints do not say the children were directly harmed. While some employee witnesses said it was odd that Schutt frequented the center, there were no reports of any interactions with children that were out of the ordinary.
According to the complaints, Schutt used a Facebook account with the name “John Dahlk” to send friend requests to Circle of Friends parents. A witness told police that Martinez told others Schutt’s name was John.
In December, an employee notified the Circle of Friends owner that Schutt was visiting the center even though he “may have charges” against him. A parent raised a concern in January, and after this the child care told Martinez that Schutt could not be on the premises. Shortly after that conversation, Martinez quit. Her last shift was in early February 2023, the complaints said.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families fined Circle of Friends $500 for having a visitor who was not supposed to have contact with children due to his criminal history. DCF did not directly name Schutt or Martinez.
In mid-May, the owner of Circle of Friends contacted the Shawano County Sheriff's Office stating they had information about Schutt, who had an active warrant for his arrest at the time.
The center's owner, Kay Wiegert, declined to comment on the case or the licensing violations. Wiegert did confirm the center will be closing permanently this week for reasons unrelated to the alleged incidents.
Schutt has criminal past
In addition to the 2021 child pornography case, Schutt also had two cases filed against him this year alleging he removed a GPS tracking bracelet, did not update his address as by the sex offender registry, failed to appear for a court date and other violations, according to court records.
Schutt has been on the sex offender registry since he was convicted in 2012 in Shawano County of various charges related to having sexual relationships with two underage girls when he was 17 and 18. He was sentenced to five years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision. While on extended supervision in 2021, he was charged with over 60 counts of possession of child pornography in Shawano County. That case is ongoing, with a status conference set for Sept. 28.
In a separate case filed this year, Martinez was charged with harboring or aiding a felon and being party to a crime related to Schutt's failure to update his address.
Schutt and Martinez are both scheduled to have preliminary hearings on Sept. 22 in connection with Schutt's presence at Circle of Friends.
Kelli Arseneau of The Post-Crescent contributed to this report.
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Convicted sex offender charged with visiting Menasha child care center
