MILWAUKEE (TCN) — A former surgeon has been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for the possession and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Jan. 30.WITI reports Calvin Eriksen, 47, was arrested on July 15, 2025, following a two-year investigation. In 2023, a Homeland Security agent was monitoring sex-related chat rooms, pretending to be a 29-year-old woman with an 8-year-old daughter. A user who said he was a surgeon in Wisconsin messaged that he would like to have sex with both of them. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the user then sent the agent a nude photo of himself. The undercover messages continued for several months and then the user stopped responding. The agent later saw the user’s screen name in another chat room. Filings from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say the user uploaded two files of apparent child sexual abuse materials from an IP address originating at a hospital, according to WITI.A warrant for the profile found 350 pictures and 60 videos and that the user had distributed them on other group chats. WITI reports Eriksen worked as a transplant surgeon at Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital and was also a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. WTMJ reports Eriksen was placed on leave after his arrest.United States Attorney Brad Schimel said, “This case demonstrates the troubling reality that people who prey on children for sexual gratification can come from all walks of life.”According to the U.S. attorney’s office, once Eriksen’s prison sentence is served, he will be on supervised release for seven years and will also be required to register as a sex offender under state and federal law.MORE: Former children’s transplant surgeon sentenced to six years for distributing child sexual abuse material — PeopleEx-Froedtert surgeon gets 6 years for possessing, distributing child porn — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MILWAUKEE (TCN) — A former surgeon has been sentenced to 72 months in federal prison for the possession and distribution of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced on Jan. 30.WITI reports Calvin Eriksen, 47, was arrested on July 15, 2025, following a two-year investigation. In 2023, a Homeland Security agent was monitoring sex-related chat rooms, pretending to be a 29-year-old woman with an 8-year-old daughter. A user who said he was a surgeon in Wisconsin messaged that he would like to have sex with both of them. According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the user then sent the agent a nude photo of himself. The undercover messages continued for several months and then the user stopped responding. The agent later saw the user’s screen name in another chat room. Filings from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say the user uploaded two files of apparent child sexual abuse materials from an IP address originating at a hospital, according to WITI.A warrant for the profile found 350 pictures and 60 videos and that the user had distributed them on other group chats. WITI reports Eriksen worked as a transplant surgeon at Children’s Wisconsin, Froedtert Hospital and was also a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. WTMJ reports Eriksen was placed on leave after his arrest.United States Attorney Brad Schimel said, “This case demonstrates the troubling reality that people who prey on children for sexual gratification can come from all walks of life.”According to the U.S. attorney’s office, once Eriksen’s prison sentence is served, he will be on supervised release for seven years and will also be required to register as a sex offender under state and federal law.MORE: Former children’s transplant surgeon sentenced to six years for distributing child sexual abuse material — PeopleEx-Froedtert surgeon gets 6 years for possessing, distributing child porn — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MIAMI (TCN) — The family of a woman found dead inside a walk-in freezer at a Dollar Tree store has filed a $50 million lawsuit.On Dec. 14, a store employee found the body of Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, 32, in the freezer. Garay Sanchez had reportedly entered the store near closing time and did not purchase anything, but then went to the employee-only storage room, where she died. The case was investigated as an unclassified death.Law & Crime reports Garay Sanchez’s family has filed a suit accusing the store’s manager of instructing an employee not to review surveillance footage and failing to take reasonable action to locate or assist Garay Sanchez. According to the complaint, the store’s manager, Yanelkis Gonzalez, was aware Garay Sanchez was missing and had not exited the store. He was then asked by a customer to review surveillance footage to locate Garay Sanchez but allegedly refused to do so. “Gonzalez affirmatively instructed the Dollar Tree employee not to review the surveillance footage,” according to the complaint. In addition, Dollar Tree is accused in the suit of failing to install, maintain, and implement adequate safety mechanisms within the walk-in freezer, which the complaint says is faulty and in a location where customers could access it.According to a GoFundMe set up by her family, Garay Sanchez, an anesthesiologist, “was a loving mother to two children, who remain in Nicaragua and were the center of her world. Her strength, warmth, and unwavering love for her family will always be remembered.”MORE:Naked woman found dead inside Dollar Tree freezer — True Crime News

MIAMI (TCN) — The family of a woman found dead inside a walk-in freezer at a Dollar Tree store has filed a $50 million lawsuit.On Dec. 14, a store employee found the body of Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, 32, in the freezer. Garay Sanchez had reportedly entered the store near closing time and did not purchase anything, but then went to the employee-only storage room, where she died. The case was investigated as an unclassified death.Law & Crime reports Garay Sanchez’s family has filed a suit accusing the store’s manager of instructing an employee not to review surveillance footage and failing to take reasonable action to locate or assist Garay Sanchez. According to the complaint, the store’s manager, Yanelkis Gonzalez, was aware Garay Sanchez was missing and had not exited the store. He was then asked by a customer to review surveillance footage to locate Garay Sanchez but allegedly refused to do so. “Gonzalez affirmatively instructed the Dollar Tree employee not to review the surveillance footage,” according to the complaint. In addition, Dollar Tree is accused in the suit of failing to install, maintain, and implement adequate safety mechanisms within the walk-in freezer, which the complaint says is faulty and in a location where customers could access it.According to a GoFundMe set up by her family, Garay Sanchez, an anesthesiologist, “was a loving mother to two children, who remain in Nicaragua and were the center of her world. Her strength, warmth, and unwavering love for her family will always be remembered.”MORE:Naked woman found dead inside Dollar Tree freezer — True Crime News

This Week on True Crime News The Podcast: Jack Ball pleaded guilty to murdering his sister Bethany Israel and her unborn child, but his defense maintains the brother was unable to comprehend his actions because of mental illness. Tracy Tamborra joins host Ana Garcia.