Sex offender violates registry rules

A convicted sex offender accused of failing to inform the state of his internet address and using a private computer network without permission made an initial appearance Friday in Douglas County Circuit Court.

Nathan Robert Adolphson, 25, faces felony counts of sex offender registry violation and computer crimes-destroy system.

According to the criminal complaint:

Adolphson’s roommate reported viewing what he believed to be child pornography that he thought was in Adolphson’s possession in October. Members of the Superior Police Department found two computer laptops in the room. Adolphson told officers he was fixing the computers for their owner and had been in possession of them for about two weeks. He had been able to get one of the computers working. A forensic examination of the laptop showed five email addresses, two of which belonged to Adolphson’s roommate, as well as a Twitter account and Hulu.com profile.

In 2006, Adolphson pleaded guilty to felony second-degree sexual assault of a child and misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault. A deferred judgment of conviction agreement was entered, but it was revoked in 2009. Adolphson was sentenced to 10 years on probation and one year in jail, according to online court records. The state sex offender registry lists Adolphson as a lifetime registrant.

In March 2010, a state statute went into effect requiring sex offender registrants to inform the Wisconsin state registry of all their internet identifiers. One of Adolphson’s email addresses found on the laptop had not been reported to the registry. Further investigation showed the email address had been created in 2006 and the account was active.

The internet service provider for the area was able to trace the IP address used by the laptop in Adolphson’s possession. It belonged to a homeowner about a block away who had a wireless router that was not password protected at the time. The homeowner had not given anyone permission to use their internet connection.

Adolphson signed a $2,000 signature bond but remained in custody at the Douglas County Jail as of Tuesday.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.

The registry violation charge carries a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment and up to a $10,000 fine. The computer crimes charge carries a maximum sentence of three years and six months in prison, and a maximum fine of $10,000.

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