WI: Mauston facing legal uncertainty over living facility for sex offenders: ‘They’re still going to need a place to live.’

Source: wiscnews.com 2/9/23

Tammy Most and her husband have three children, their youngest being an 8-year-old daughter.
They moved into their house near the heart of Mauston’s historic downtown area in 2012, but they didn’t know that their new home would come with a constant state of unease.

Directly across from Most’s residence sits 108 Wisconsin Street. It’s a modest two-story duplex, and it’s served as a rental property since 1997. The City of Mauston is contemplating legal action that would evict its tenants — at least three sex offenders.

The city council voted to serve the property, a supportive housing facility, with a notice that it was operating against zoning regulations in December. The house is rented by ATTIC Correctional Services. The private, non-profit agency runs a variety of correctional treatment centers, transitional housing facilities and rehabs across the state.

“Recently, we were advised that we were going to have several rather contentious offenders being released from other parts of the state, and that this was a transitional place that they could go to because it’s part of the (Office of Corrections),” Chief Zilisch stated at the meeting.

He explained that other local facilities have requirements that prevent them from releasing occupants into counties where they didn’t offend.

That protects us from having sex offenders released within our community all the time,” he explained.

 

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Wisconsin seem to be in a pickle They force the registrants to return to the area they committed a crime in that area they committed a crime in this everything in their power to remove them from the community.

Chief Zilisch stated at the meeting that other local facilities have requirements that prevent them from releasing occupants into counties where they didn’t offend.

“That protects us from having sex offenders released within our community all the time,” he explained.:

You force them to return to the town they committed their charge and force them away from the same community at what point is it banishment?

Now hang on a minute. If the sex offenders were there, before they moved in, then they should’ve checked Megan’s law themselves and decided not to move there. This one is definitely on them, not us.

Oh Jack, even better, the Most should just assume (correctly) that anyone/everyone is a potential sex offender and teach, watch & protect their children accordingly!!
Voila, problem solved! Then they don’t even have to look at the Megan’s Law website!

Otherwise, while they’re searching the website, their children are at risk from teachers, pastors, tutors, coaches, music instructors, family “friends”, relatives, etc.

Maybe the Registry websites should be renamed the “At Risk Distraction” sites! 🤷🏻‍♂️🤗
It’s very disturbing that lawmakers, police & media have conspired to mislead people with this “public safety” lie. 😕 And equally disturbing that the public has bought into it. 😕

BTW, maybe I missed it, but I’m sure the article mentioned prevention programs/resources for individuals at risk of offending.
It didn’t?? 😳
What do you mean, “There are none.”?? 😲😳

“Most recently, the police department notified the public that long-time resident and registered sex offender James D. Kern was being re-released into the city and would be living at 108 Wisconsin Street”

So I looked up this gentleman’s rap sheet

“The long-time resident was convicted in 2017 for fourth-degree sexual assault of a 68-year-old, for which he was initially given 18 months of probation. The charge was later reopened in 2019 and Kern’s judgment was amended to add 9 months to a jail sentence”

This begs the question. If this man was convicted of a 4th degree sexual assault on a 65 year old, why is this hysterical “mama bear” (as she calls herself) worried about her 8 year old daughter wading in a rubber swimming pool within view sight of this man’s house?

Wow – what a poorly written article when it comes to facts.

There is no state-wide residency restriction when it comes to sex offenders in Wisconsin, unless the sex offender has been determined to be a predator under Chapter 980. People being released from prison are required to be released to their county of conviction/previous residence, but there are no state-wide restrictions related to how many feet to a school, etc.

The state created a hot mess with its predator (civil commitment) statute which is constantly tries to fix, only to make things worse. For these people there are all kinds of restrictions that only make a bad situation worse.

My guess that the “contentious” sex offenders being discussed here are people who have been found to be a predator according to Chapter 980.

It’s a shame, because Attic runs a number of programs around the state and not many accept sex offenders at all. This program seems to have run successfully in this location for a long time, at least till some soccer mom decided it had to go.

To Gov Ever’s credit, it was a bad bill proposed by the GOP. You have to remember, many towns in Wisconsin still have local ordinances restricting “sex offenders” Since Wisconsin law already requires the DOC to release inmates to their county of conviction, those with sex offenses can’t return to their own county due to a their community having a local residency ordinance. So then you have newly released inmates in limbo, being homeless or staying in county jails, because they have no place to go. That scenario happened under Milwaukee’s 2000 foot ordinance, but threats of lawsuits changed that practice. However, many suburbs still have restrictions. I faced that problem when I couldn’t return to Cedarburg which has a 2000 foot distance restriction around parks and residences. Luckily, I was able to interstate transfer out of Wisconsin before my release date. So don’t think the WIS republican legislature was doing some favor with its legislation. Their main focus was “local rights” for communities. And let’s not forget that their party (under Scott Walker) enacted the 3 year mandatory minimum sentence just for viewing cp. And one’s convicted of that couldn’t get their time shortened because of another Wisconsin GOP enacted law called “truth in sentencing” I’m not saying Dems are on our side, but in Wisconsin, the GOP has done FAR more damage to individuals convicted of sex offenses.

Last edited 1 year ago by Roger

The ATTIC organization was forced upon me upon mandatory release in 1995. Nice to see there still around. While a was kinda forced to spend 9 weeks there, coincidently the same building where mom plopped me out. Seven weeks in ” the ice cream man” was let out per MR and all hell broke loose. Thing was the “A house” was right next door to Bridge Elementary. The same action by city took place then. I had a place to live at release so they had to let me go, but only because the high profile offender story made it happen. At least three other sex offenders already there before I was forced by DOC Parole to be there. They a bailed like fleas off a dog. I think that Mauston will shut it down. Just like those on the bracelet, I was a slave to the property operating under DOC lease contract. Really to privately owned property. Who ever owns- holds the deed to the house- has to pay annual taxes to the city. Housing offenders by leasing to DOC ” treatement” is much more lucrative than renting to single families. Because the property is leased, until the lease expires it will remain temporarily because Judges will lend the state deference until the expiration of said lease.

What is the name of ” the husband ” to which the Author refers?
How is it I know its a c***? How jacked is the source code the damn web page too. I’ll give her a break, because I’m sure her pay grade as an online journalist doesn’t cover proper English, Journalism, nor properly terminated web protocol.
I’m betting the hubby said “Leave me out of it!” Thus only the Mrs. is cited. Mauston WI has a population of ~4600 people. So three offenders is about the same ratio in the state as a whole.