WISCONSIN SEX CRIME CASES

Computer Forensics Clear Client — Not Guilty on Possession Charges

Facts: The client's ex-girlfriend accused him of possessing the images after he was arrested on battery charges involving her. Defense experts proved through a forensic test of the computer that all of the pictures were viewed under her login. She later admitted in an interview with defense investigators that he did not know her login and she did not know his.

Conviction Reversed on Appeal — Not Guilty at New Trial

Facts: The client, then 18, was out with a 14-year-old girl as friends. They were parked late at night when police knocked on the window. Police got the girl to admit that the client touched her breast, the sole allegation, which the client says was an accident. His court-appointed attorney talked him into pleading guilty to a felony. We appealed and the conviction was reversed. At the new trial, under cross-examination, the accuser admitted to lying multiple times to police, prosecutors, the defense, and investigators.

2nd Degree Sexual Assault & Kidnapping — Dismissed

Potential Child Sexual Assault Charge — No Charges Filed

Facts: The client was accused of indecently touching his stepdaughter. The allegations surfaced after a teacher heard girls talking about the client "tickling," and social worker interviews turned this into "touching" of an "intimate part." The defense secured a letter from the stepdaughter stating she had been bullied by the social worker and recanting any supposed statement.

Potential Sexual Assault of a Child Charges — No Charges Filed

Facts: The client was accused by his step-nephew of several acts of touching and exposure, and the boy's father was the driving force behind getting the boy to make statements. The defense investigation raised serious credibility problems with the accuser. When this was presented to prosecutors, they declined to charge.

Failure to Register as a Sex Offender — One County Dismissed, Felony Reduced

Facts: The original incident occurred when the client was a juvenile in a group home. After he turned 18 in 1992, he was charged with a felony as an adult. The Sex Offender Registration law was not passed until 1995, and the sentencing judge never ordered registration or mentioned it in court. His probation officer later demanded it when the law took effect, while a group-home worker the court had instructed him to obey wrongly told him not to register. He was charged in two counties, and both sought felony convictions and jail despite no offenses since 1992.

Fugitive From Justice — Released on a Personal Recognizance Bond

Facts: The client was arrested in February 2008 on a sexual assault charge in Iowa, which was dismissed in June 2008. Her bond had required no contact with the alleged victim; contact was made on numerous occasions, but no charges were ever filed. She moved to Wisconsin with her spouse in January 2009, and in April 2009 a complaint and warrant were issued in Iowa and she was arrested in Wisconsin as a fugitive. Fugitives are normally held in custody until the requesting state picks them up. We obtained an agreement with the Iowa DA that she could be released on bond, but the Wisconsin DA objected. We showed the commissioner that she owned a home in Wisconsin, had turned herself in on the original charge, and was never notified of the warrant.