STURGEON BAY, Wis. — The former president of Franklin College pleaded no contest to child sex crime charges in a Wisconsin Court Thursday.
Thomas Minar, 58, was fired by the college in January 2020 after he was arrested on suspicion of the crimes.
Wisconsin court records show Minar pleaded no contest to one count of child enticement and three counts of possession of child pornography, all class D felonies.
Prosecutors in Door County, Wis. said Minar was arrested while trying to meet a teenager after a sexually explicit chat through an online dating site.
According to court documents, Minar was allegedly using a cell phone app called "Grindr," which is a platform "commonly used by gay males to meet other males to meet up for sexual encounters," when he began contacting a person he thought was a 15-year-old boy. The person was actually an undercover police officer.
After being arrested at a local McDonald's after making plans to meet, Minar reportedly told officers he was attracted to young males but that the sexually-explicit chat was only "fantasy chat."
Minar had been president of Franklin College for five years and had previously announced plans to leave the school at the end of the academic year ending in 2020.
Court records show Minar is scheduled to be sentenced on June 6.
-
Report: Pacers sign forward Kelly Oubre Jr. to two-year deal
The Pacers are signing forward Kelly Oubre Jr. to a two-year, nearly $17 million deal, according to a report from ESPN's Shams Charania.
Docs: IND passenger called 911, said he'd 'freak out' before emergency landing
Cook reportedly called 911 during this incident, using expletives to explain he was in danger, and he was “going to freak the (expletive) out” if they didn’t stop the plane.
Search ends for missing Putnam County teen last seen in May
The FBI Indianapolis field office is assisting the Putnam County Sheriff's Department in the search for a missing 16-year-old boy.
24-Hour special 'Disney Celebrates America' to air on WRTVABC
Disney Entertainment Television is marking America's 250th birthday with a 24-hour multi-platform broadcast — and Indianapolis viewers can catch it right here on WRTV.
