ONEIDA, Wis. (WFRV) – A Pastor for Oneida United Methodist Church has been arrested and is in jail with 21 counts, most of them related to Possession of Child Pornography.
According to a release, the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the members of the Division of Criminal Investigation in the Wisconsin Department of Justice, conducted a search warrant on Feb. 24, 2022.
Deputies say the warrant was in response to a Cybertipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at the Oneida United Methodist Church, on County Road E in the Township of Oneida. It is also related to a nearby residence in which the church pastor lived, which was also under suspicion of the Internet Crimes Against Children investigation.
The Sheriff’s Office has identified the suspect as 48-year-old Rick Haberland, who serves as the Pastor for Oneida United Methodist Church.
They say Haberland also served as the Pastor of New Hope United Methodist Church in De Pere, Suring and Hickory United Methodist Churches in Suring, Phillips United Methodist Church in Phillips, and Tabor United Methodist Church in Eden.
Deputies explain that Haberland has been arrested and booked into the Outagamie County Jail on 20 counts of Possession of Child Pornography and one count of Possession of Methamphetamine.
Anyone with information regarding the investigation is asked to contact Sergeant Mike Fitzpatrick at the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office at (920) 832-5279 or Mike.Fitzpatrick@Outagamie.org.
