A Cleveland man is facing charges for sexually assaulting his own daughter and stepchild.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office started investigating the incident in December 2025 after the victim said she didn’t trust men anymore.
A criminal complaint alleges that 36-year-old Joshua Ganzel took nude photos of his daughter while she was sleeping and had her participate in “naked messages” starting around 2019.
Manitowoc County Detectives interviewed Ganzel at a tavern where he admitted to the incidents.
He also admitted to having his daughter perform sexual acts on him before asking his stepchild if he would want to join in.
The complaint says the 36-year-old also forced his daughter one time to perform a sexual act on him after she said no.
Ganzel told detectives that the phone he used to take the photos was thrown away.
But Manitowoc County deputies got a search warrant for his current phone before seizing it.
Ganzel faces numerous charges, including two counts of 1st-degree child sexual assault, repeated sexual assault of the same child, two counts of incest, child sexual exploitation, and soliciting a child for prostitution.
He remains in the Manitowoc County Jail on a $50,000 cash bail and is due back in court on June 25th for a scheduling conference.
