Wausau Man Accused of Using Snapchat to Arrange a Sexual Encounter with a 12-Year-Old

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025 -- 4:01 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) A Wausau man is accused of using Snapchat to arrange a sexual encounter with a 12-year-old girl.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, police say Dilan Cheyka used the social media platform to meet the girl, then arranged to pick her up near the intersection of Stewart Avenue and S 5th Avenue.

Officers saw her get into Cheyka’s vehicle, then pulled him over to question him. The girl told police she met Cheyka that night on the app. He told them that he was giving the girls a free ride, saying he was a nice guy who didn’t want kids to be out walking late at night.

Saved messages in the 23-year-old’s phone show the girl disclosed her age to him, but that didn’t stop him from arranging the meeting. Officers also found naked images of the girl in his message history.

Cheyka is now being held in the Marathon County jail on a quarter-million-dollar cash bond, facing multiple felony counts, including use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, child enticement, and possession of child pornography.

The most serious crime carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. All told, he faces up to 140 years in prison if found guilty. No trial dates have been set, and Cheyka has yet to enter a plea to the charges.

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