A Marion man is accused of seeking a teen bride at Waupaca churches.

Richard R. Schmidt II, 42, is charged with felony stalking of a minor, felony witness intimidation, and two counts of violating a restraining order.

He remains in custody on a $10,000 cash bond.

According to the criminal complaint, Schmidt began attending First Baptist Church in Waupaca in 2015.

There he saw a 14-year-old girl and told her father he wanted to marry her.

The girl’s father said she was too young.

Schmidt then began sending the father numerous emails, giving reasons why he should be allowed to marry her, the complaint says.

Schmidt stopped contacting the girl’s father and began pursuing other young girls at the church. He was kicked out of the church, according to the criminal complaint.

“I thought he was out of my life, we thought he was gone,” the girl told Waupaca County Deputy Clint Schroeder when he interviewed her on May 5, 2018.

In November 2017, Schmidt allegedly left a letter, a box of chocolates and roses at the front door of the girl’s home in Royalton.

On Nov. 29, 2017, the girl and her father filed for and were granted a restraining order.

On Dec. 3, 2017, after being served the restraining order, Schmidt sent a 19-page letter to the girl’s father, which the family forwarded to the sheriff’s office.

Deputy Curtis Much reviewed the letter and and described it as threatening.

He reported Schmidt frequently quoted scripture to justify his belief that he was not wrong asking the father for permission to marry the girl “when she became of legal age.”

Schmidt’s letter also criticized the father for obtaining a restraining order.

“You have sinned by dragging me into court before the unbelievers,” the letter said. “Confess to your sins in this regard and bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance.”

On April 29, 2018, the father received another letter from Schmidt. This one was 16 pages long and accused First Baptist Church of wronging him.

“After I have already been mistreated at many other churches because of my function in the body of Christ as a prophet and also because I am an unmarried man seeking a wife, I prayed to the Lord for direction and he prompted me to go to First Baptist Church,” the letter said.

In the April 29 letter, Schmidt said he believed the girl had been “signaling romantic interest in me before we even started talking.”

Much reported the girl began crying when he interviewed her.

“I could see how terribly scared she was of Schmidt,” Much said.

When deputies executed a search warrant at Schmidt’s home, they found almost no furniture and evidence of letters seeking underage girls as his wife.

In the basement, they reported finding a mattress on the floor, 15 desktop computer towers still in their boxes, 36 external 500 gigabyte hard drives, 43 60 gigabyte hard drives, multiple lap tops, some old cellphones and seven FedEx uniform shirts.

A to-do list was also seized from Schmnidt’s home.

On the last page, the list read: “Finish the machine. If it works, use it as a platform to speak God’s truth. I need a WIFE to help me. I would like a blond. How do I get her?”