Minnesota Man Sentenced to Over 8 Years for Child Exploitation Effort

Creighton Mithaugen, a 38-year-old resident of Faribault, Minnesota, has been sentenced to 97 months in federal prison for attempting to engage in sexual conduct with a minor. The sentencing was handed down by U. S.

District Judge William M. Conley in the Western District of Wisconsin. Following his prison term, Mithaugen will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release.

Mithaugen pleaded guilty to the charge on July 13, 2026. According to the U. S.

Attorney's Office, from April 2024 through February 2026, Mithaugen engaged in online conversations with someone he believed to be a 14 or 15-year-old girl. However, the individual was actually an undercover law enforcement agent. Mithaugen was arrested on February 13, 2026, after traveling from Minnesota to a prearranged meeting location in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, where he intended to meet the purported minor for sexual activity.

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Conley highlighted Mithaugen's prior criminal history, which includes a 2007 conviction for having sex with a fifteen-year-old girl. Additionally, there were credible allegations against Mithaugen for inappropriate contact with a ten-year-old girl in 2022. Judge Conley described Mithaugen as a repeat and dangerous sex offender, emphasizing the necessity of a lengthy sentence to protect vulnerable members of society from his predatory behavior.

The investigation leading to Mithaugen's arrest was a collaborative effort involving the Oneida County Sheriff's Office, the Rhinelander Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger.

Mithaugen's case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project coordinates federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.