Wausau Police Department Unveils 2024 Numbers

Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 -- 9:01 AM

(Dylan Eckhart, WAOW) The Wausau Police Department (WPD) unveiled their numbers from 2024.

According to Dylan Eckhart with WAOW, child sexual assault, exploitation and fraud were some of the largest concerns. Child pornography cases rose 43% percent, with 6 more cases in 2024 compared to 2023.

Sexual assaults increased by 45% with 9 more cases from 2023 to 2024. "About one-third of sexual assaults get reported, meaning the majority do not get reported to law enforcement," said Captain Ben Graham, WPD.

On YouTube, "The Wausau PD Podcast" episode 19, "Seek then speak," highlighted local resources that victims could report to if they did not want to go to police.

The podcast also has covered topics like sextortion and the potential dangers of social media, which according to the report, underscores the increase in exploitation and child pornography cases.

On top of bringing awareness to those issues, Graham says that elders are being targeted in fraud cases, many of which are in the realm of cryptocurrency.

"We're seeing these actors target our aging population and convincing them to go to their banks, or take cash that they have at home," said Graham. A handful of trends saw slight to moderate increases, but drug overdoses were at a six-year low with 19 total incidents (13 non-fatal and 6 fatal).

Despite the downward trend, the first quarter of 2024 saw three overdose fatalities involving three adult males. According to the report, fentanyl toxicity remains the leading cause.

WPD says their staff did a complete overhaul on the report, including reformatting and redesigning to be as informative as possible, but easier to digest. Click here to view full report.

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