Probationary Neenah Police Officer Owen Halls Fired, Convicted, and Sentenced in Child Sexual Abuse Material Case
Former Neenah Police Department probationary officer Owen Halls went from being a new patrol officer to a convicted offender after an Internet Crimes Against Children investigation led to his firing, criminal charges, a no-contest plea, and a prison sentence.
According to WBAY, Neenah Police Chief Aaron Olson announced in March 2025 that Halls had been fired after Kaukauna Police received an Internet Crimes Against Children tip identifying Halls as a suspect. Halls had been employed by the Neenah Police Department since March 25, 2024, and was still in his probationary period when the investigation became public.
The case began after Kaukauna Police contacted Neenah officials about the ICAC tip. Police later executed search warrants, and Halls was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, the statutory term used in court records and media reports. The material is more accurately described as child sexual abuse material, because the files depict the abuse and exploitation of children.
FOX 11 reported that investigators received a tip involving files uploaded through the messaging app Kik and traced them to Halls. According to the criminal complaint summarized by FOX 11, Halls admitted sending messages to other users requesting child pornography.
The Neenah Police Department moved quickly to separate itself from Halls. Chief Olson said the alleged conduct had disgraced the department, the city, and law enforcement as a whole, and said the department would seek to have Halls decertified as a Wisconsin law enforcement officer. The chief also apologized publicly, saying the department conducts thorough background investigations but that Halls had been able to deceive them.
After initially facing two counts, Halls later resolved the case through a plea. WBAY reported that in November 2025, Halls pleaded no contest to one count of possession of child pornography, while the second count was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
On December 19, 2025, Halls was sentenced in Outagamie County Court. FOX 11 reported that Judge Mark McGinnis sentenced Halls to three years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision. WBAY also reported that Halls received the same three-year prison sentence and five years of extended supervision.
This case is another example of why public oversight of law enforcement matters. Halls was not a longtime veteran officer with decades inside the system. He was a new, probationary officer who had only been with the department for about a year. Even so, he had already been placed in a position of public trust, authority, and access.
Police departments often ask the public to trust their hiring, screening, and supervision processes. But when someone accused — and later convicted — in a child exploitation case makes it into uniform, the public has every right to question how that happened, what warning signs were missed, and whether the department’s vetting process was truly enough.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice describes the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force as part of the state’s response to online child exploitation. In Halls’ case, that system appears to have worked after the tip came in. The larger question is how someone who would later admit seeking this material was able to become a police officer in the first place.
