Annie Pulley
RACINE — A 41-year-old registered sex offender was arrested after Racine County Sheriff’s Office investigators searched his home March 3.
Edgar Cruz was charged with nine counts of possessing child pornography; one count of intentionally possessing a child sex doll; one count of sex offender fail/update information; and one count of possessing drug paraphernalia.
Each count, except the drug charge, is a felony.
Cruz’s cash bail was set at $100,000. He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing March 12.
Cruz, according to Journal Times records, is the 10th Racine County resident to be charged with possessing child pornography in 2025.
Allegations
According to a criminal complaint, last November, investigators with the Internet Crimes Against Children unit, a division of RCSO, began looking into cyber tips indicating a Racine resident had been engaging with child sexual abuse material, or child pornography, online.
The tips were related to a single IP address, which investigators connected to the 800 block of Berkeley Drive.
Investigators learned Cruz previously lived there and that he was being supervised by the state Department of Corrections.
According to online court records, Cruz was convicted of second-degree child sexual assault in connection to a case filed in 2007.
Cruz’s probation was revoked in 2015, and he was sentenced to eight years in prison and six years of extended supervision, according to RCSO.
On March 3, investigators searched Cruz’s current residence in the 1700 block of Grange Avenue, which is near a school playground.
Investigators reportedly found illegal images and videos on a messaging account belonging to Cruz, and he reportedly admitted to sending child pornography to random people through a messaging app.
Investigators also reportedly found an object believed to have been molded to resemble a small child, and Cruz reportedly said his DNA would be on the object.
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