Former Milwaukee County Prosecutor Gets 10 Years In Child Sex Abuse Material Case

MADISON, WI — A former Milwaukee County prosecutor was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material, federal prosecutors said.

Adam J. Westbrook, 35, of Neenah, was sentenced last week by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin said.

Westbrook pleaded guilty Sept. 16, 2024, to distributing child pornography, according to prosecutors. His 10-year prison sentence will be followed by 20 years of supervised release.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that Westbrook worked as a prosecutor in Milwaukee County. He later worked as Outagamie County’s human resources director and Neenah city attorney.

The federal case began after law enforcement arrested another man in Kenosha County in early February 2024 on various sex crime allegations, federal authorities said.

Investigators searched that man’s phone and found several videos showing a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Evidence showed Westbrook had sent the videos to the Kenosha County man, prosecutors said.

Before sentencing, Judge Peterson reviewed a letter submitted by Westbrook and said Westbrook’s letter and statements at sentencing showed both “self-reflection and self-deception,” according to prosecutors.

Judge Peterson said Westbrook showed an awareness of the risk he posed, but that his “self-deception made him an enormous risk to public safety,” prosecutors said.

Between his guilty plea and sentencing, Westbrook also tried to withdraw his plea and filed a motion challenging the legality of the indictment, according to prosecutors.

Peterson found those actions were inconsistent with accepting responsibility and made Westbrook more dangerous, prosecutors said.

The investigation was conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, and the Neenah and Lake Delton police departments, with assistance from the UK National Crime Agency.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Louis Glinzak and Elizabeth Altman prosecuted the case.