Manitowoc lawyer faces six felonies in child sex case

MANITOWOC - Seven years after becoming a convicted sex offender, a Manitowoc County bankruptcy lawyer is in trouble again.

Authorities have charged 36-year-old Joseph Engl with six felonies.

Engl is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, not telling the sex offender registry his current address and using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime.

“Any case when you have a sexual assault is serious and this is a serious case,” said Mark Rohrer, the district attorney for Manitowoc County.

According to a criminal complaint, the 15-year-old girl told authorities she met a man on the Internet named Samuel Tabta. The girl claims the man picked her up from work and they drove around while exchanging sexual acts.

After about two months of investigating, authorities were able to link Engl to the e-mail account used to talk to the girl.

In 2004, Engl was also arrested in Milwaukee for trying to setup a child-sex act on the Internet. He was found guilty of arranging a meeting with an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.

Wisconsin's Office of Laywer Regulation publicly reprimanded Engl for the 2004 incident. However, according to its website, Engl is in good standing with the state bar.

The criminal complaint also shows the Wisconsin Department of Justice and Calumet County Sheriff's Office investigated Engl in 2010. No charges were filed, but authorities suspected Engl was using the Internet to meet children for sex.

Authorities also suspected Engl was not living at the address he listed with the Sex Offender Registry. The website lists Engl as living at his Sheboygan law office.

Officers believe Engl has been living with a woman in Two Rivers.

“We're still gathering information and we're going to keep moving forward,” said Rohrer.

Engl is being held on a $150,000 cash bond.

Friends and family of Engl did not have any comment after court Monday. FOX 11 was unable to reach his attorney.