Arpin Man Sentenced to Just Over 16 Years in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography

Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 -- 1:01 PM

(Karen Madden, Marshfield News-Herald) A 34-year-old Arpin man was sentenced Tuesday to 16⅟₄ years in federal prison for manipulating girls into sending him sexually explicit photos of themselves.

According to Karen Madden with the Marshfield News-Herald, Joshua Sherwood pleaded guilty Nov. 4 to receiving child pornography. U.S. District Judge William Conley sentenced Sherwood to 25 years of supervised release after he gets out of prison.

A short time after Sherwood was released from serving three years in state prison for three counts of child pornography possession, he began reaching out to minor girls across the country, manipulating them into producing sexually explicit images for himself, according to a news release from the Western District of Wisconsin U.S. Attorney Timothy O'Shea.

Authorities detailed one explicit video he received via Snapchat on Jan. 5, 2023, from a 16-year-old girl. Sherwood sent the girls money and items from their Amazon wish lists to get them to send the photos.

When girls refused to send Sherwood additional explicit images, he threatened to send the images he had to their parent or he threatened to kill himself, according to the news release.

Conley said Sherwood was willing to directly exploit his young victims, seemingly enjoying the manipulation. Conley said he saw no awareness from Sherwood of the damage that he regularly caused and noticed Sherwood's descent was so far, it will be difficult for him to change, according to the news release.

The Smyrna, Tennessee, Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Marshfield Police Department, Wisconsin Department of Corrections and New Lisbon Correctional Institution were involved in the investigation.

The investigation was part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.