Felony charge dropped, man gets probation on misdemeanor offenses
By Vicky Wedig
Editor
A former Badger High School student took the same plea deal Tuesday as his co-actor in circulating images of a sexual encounter with a classmate last year.
Blake A. Dodd, 18, of Lake Geneva, was sentenced Tuesday in Walworth County Circuit Court to two years probation with a stayed jail sentence of nine months. As part of a plea agreement, a felony charge of child sexual exploitation against him was dismissed, and, in turn, he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges – sex with a child 16 years or older; possession of harmful material while exposing a child to the material; and exposing his genitals to a child close in age.
Judge Philip A. Koss sentenced Dodd to nine years in jail on each misdemeanor charged to run concurrently. The sentence is stayed, meaning Dodd won’t serve the time unless he violates conditions of his probation, which include having no contact with the girl, her family or her residence; having no contact with Tias L. Larson, 18, of Genoa City; and sharing $3,192 in restitution with Larson.
Larson, who, along with Dodd, had sex with a then-16-year-old girl at her home Feb. 19, 2016, then circulated images of the encounter, entered the same plea deal Aug. 4. Koss also presided over that case.
“It’s an unfortunate situation for all involved,” he said Tuesday.
Larson and Dodd were Badger High School students who allegedly had sex with the girl, also a Badger student, when they were 16 years old. They allegedly videotaped and photographed the encounter and then shared the images with other students.
According to the criminal complaint, the girl invited Dodd to her home Feb. 19, 2016, to hang out and watch a movie. Dodd brought Larson, and the two boys simultaneously had sex with the girl, the complaint alleges.
According to the criminal complaint, the girl told police Dodd and Larson took turns having intercourse with her while the other forced her to perform oral sex and then repeatedly switched positions.
