A 32-year-old Oshkosh man is under arrest for communicating with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl for the purposes of sex.
Investigators from the Racine County Sheriff’s Office arrested Daryl A. Prater after the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit developed a case where Prater thought he was communicating with 15-year-old. and ultimately arranged to pick up the girl for sex.
Prater traveled from his Oshkosh residence with the intent to meet a 15-year-old girl for sex. Prater had been chatting online with a Racine County Sheriff’s investigator. The investigator was posing as a 15-year-old girl. Prater arranged to pick up the girl at a local business in Sturtevant and take her to his home in Oshkosh. Prater arrived in the area and texted her to step out of the business. He also texted her that he hoped that this was not a police sting.
When a Sheriff’s squad car activated his emergency lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, Prater fled in his car. After a short pursuit reaching speeds of 60 miles per hour, Prater pulled into a business parking lot and was taken into custody.
Search in Oshkosh turns up further evidence
Wednesday, a search warrant was executed at Prater’s residence in Oshkosh and further evidence was recovered.
Prater is a registered sex offender and is currently on parole from a similar type arrest made by the Oshkosh Police in 2014 where Prater carried out a sexual assault of a 15-year-old victim. Prater served prison time on that conviction.
Prater is currently being held in the Racine County Jail on the following felony charges: Attempted Child Enticement, Use of a Computer to Facilitate a Child Sex Crime, Requesting Nude Images of a Child, and Fleeing and Eluding a Police Officer
Prater has a total bond of $100,000 and is also being held on a Department of Corrections hold.