Woman found guilty in deer poaching incident gets jail term and fine

The woman recently convicted in a large-scale deer poaching scheme has been sentenced.

37-year-old Jessica Kroening appeared in court on Friday, May 2, 2025, during a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty to charges of Illegal Shining of Deer, Elk, or Bear and Intentionally Contributing to the Delinquency of a Child last month.

Kroening was sentenced to one month in jail and has to pay $1,000 for her role in poaching over 100 deer along with three teenage boys, one of which was her son.

Additionally, she will be unable to obtain any sort of license through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for three years.

Her son and two other teenagers have also been prosecuted in juvenile court for the multi-county deer poaching incidents, which include areas in Fond du Lac and Washington Counties.

Kroening and the three juveniles were accused of shining and shooting deer as well intentionally hitting a deer with a vehicle.

In total, over 100 deer were said to be killed or mistreated in the areas surrounding Campbellsport, West Bend, Kewaskum, Lomira, and Theresa.