Tag: Wisconsin

WI: The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has restored a lawsuit over Hartland’s limit on sex offenders

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Source: jsonline.com 8/12/22 A small Wisconsin town’s attempt to ban more sex offenders from living there flunks one of two tests that would make it unconstitutional, a federal appeals court has ruled. The decision sent the matter back to a lower court for argument about the second test, and whether the local law should be thrown out. Hartland adopted an ordinance in 2018 after it felt it had more offenders per capita than other Waukesha County communities. A sex offender who wanted to move there sued, claiming the ordinance amounted to an…

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WI: Wisconsin court rules against transgender sex offender

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Source: wgno.com 7/7/22 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled Thursday that a transgender woman cannot change her name because she is on the state’s sex offender registry and the law does not allow people on the registry to change their names. The court’s 4-3 decision upholds the rulings of two lower courts, which rejected the woman’s requests to change her name and avoid registering as a sex offender. Read the full article  

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WI: Sex offender ‘won’t be released’ unless he accepts housing

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Source: spmetrowire.com 7/1/22 The Stevens Point Police Department says a convicted sex offender has chosen to be homeless upon his release from prison on July 5. Cody ____, 28, was convicted in 2014 of having sexual intercourse with a then-13-year-old girl in 2010 after he invited the girl, and her friend, to his neighbor’s garage and provided them with marijuana that may have contained a “date rape” drug. Cody also had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old in 2012 and had her text him nude photos of herself, police say. While…

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WI: Winnebago County approves $1 million housing project for released violent sex offenders

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Source: news.yahoo.com 6/22/22 OSHKOSH – The Winnebago County Board passed a resolution Tuesday night to spend just over $1 million to build a housing facility for certain violent sex offenders that state law requires the county to house. Multiple single-resident housing units would be built on county property near County Y to house recently released offenders. In 2018, then-Gov. Scott Walker signed a law shifting the responsibility to counties to provide housing or suitable housing to purchase for certain sex offenders who committed a sexually violent offense. Previously, it was…

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WI: Winnebago County unveils plan for million-dollar sex offender housing

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Source: fox11online.com 5/5/22 OSHKOSH, Wis. (WLUK) — Million-dollar housing for violent sex offenders could be coming to Oshkosh. The plan was introduced earlier this week. “It keeps us from having those uncomfortable conversations in the community that we shouldn’t have to have,” said Winnebago County Executive Jon Doemel. He’s trying to solve a years-long problem: a place to house violent sex offenders after their sentence is complete. “There’s no great solution that everybody likes but I think it’s the best solution for a really hard situation,” he offered. The Winnebago…

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WI: Racine County judge rules violent sex offender may be released from supervision and leave state

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Source: journaltimes.com 4/15/22 RACINE — A violent sex offender from Racine County, Hung ____, 52, has been released from all supervision and is being allowed to live out of state. This move comes as Racine County is finding it increasingly difficult to find homes for offenders who have served their criminal sentence — both in part due to community resistance to having offenders placed in certain neighborhoods, and because there are a limited number of landlords willing to house sex offenders. Those compounding factors are not directly related to Hung…

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WI: Kenosha Sex Offender Residency Board votes to allow man to reside near middle school despite objections for constitutional reasons

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Source: apg-wi.com 3/11/22 The Kenosha Sex Offender Residency Board, in a decision decried by residents who spoke against it, authorized an exemption to the city’s restrictions to allow a registered offender to live near a middle school. The board voted unanimously Thursday evening to allow Ronald W. _____ to reside in the 7900 block of 46th Avenue. The board made up of Veronica King and Lester Wright met in closed session before reaching their decision. Roughly a dozen concerned residents attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the exemption.…

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WI: County to work with municipalities on placement of violent sex offenders

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Source: apg-wi.com 10/6/21 Local municipalities will be part of the violent sex offender placement review process in Kenosha County under a resolution approved by the Kenosha County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Erin Decker, who worked to draft the resolution, said it requires the county to work with local municipalities, makes the process more transparent and requests the State Legislature clarify and revise certain definitions within the state statute. “Right now the municipalities are not given a heads-up that this is going to happen until after the placement has been…

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WI: Wisconsin judge to plead guilty to federal child pornography charges

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Source: courthousenews.com 4/4/21 A Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge charged in state and federal courts with multiple counts of possessing child pornography has agreed to plead guilty to the federal charges, according to a plea agreement approved by prosecutors and filed with the court on Wednesday. Under the agreement, Brett Blomme, 38, would plead guilty to two felony counts of child pornography possession, forego his right to a jury trial and forfeit any property or assets connected to his crimes. Each count carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence, five…

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WI: Wisconsin Lawmaker Proposes Lifetime Restraining Orders To Protect Sexual Assault Survivors

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Source: wpr.org 7/21/21 A proposed bill in Wisconsin would allow survivors of sexual assault the opportunity to petition for a lifetime restraining order against their convicted assaulter. State Rep. Barbara Dittrich, R-Oconomowoc, announced the new legislation Wednesday. Referred to as “Kayleigh’s Law,” the bill would allow survivors of first-degree, second-degree or third-degree sexual assault to seek continued protection from contact with their assailant even after that person’s probation has ended. Under current state law, a civil restraining order may be issued for an adult for up to four years and…

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WI: Rittenhouse attorney wants to show victim was a person convicted of a sex offense

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Source: news.yahoo.com 7/6/21 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorney wants a judge to allow him to argue that one of the men his client fatally shot during a Wisconsin protest was a person convicted of a sex offense, saying it supports a defense theory that he attacked Rittenhouse and intended to take his gun because he couldn’t legally possess one. Mark Richards maintained in court filings Thursday that Joseph Rosenbaum was convicted of having sex with a minor in Arizona in 2002 and was prohibited from possessing firearms. Rosenbaum…

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WI: Judge rules 2nd person listed on registry cannot be housed near Salem Lakes parks

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[cbs58.com – 6/1/21] SALEM LAKES, Wis. (CBS 58) — Salem Lakes residents are finally feeling at ease. On Tuesday, June 1, a Kenosha County judge ruled against housing a person listed on the registry in their backyard. The courtroom was packed and testimony was tense, but ultimately, the judge ruled Dale Peshek cannot live on Camp Lake Road. Another hearing ended, still with no home for the person convicted of a sex offense, who appeared in court by video. Read the full article  

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WI: Clock is ticking for county to find housing for person listed on the registry

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[ehextra.com – 5/26/21] MARINETTE — Nothing has changed since about two weeks ago when Marinette County Administrator John Lefebvre told the Administrative Committee the county still has not found a place to house a person convicted of a Wisconsin Chapter 980 sex offense. If the county doesn’t find housing for that person by June 10, it could face monetary sanctions. … At Tuesday’s county board meeting, he said, “At the present time options for placement are limited to none. There are no good viable options.” The county received notice Feb.…

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WI: State Supreme Court to hear transgender sex offender registry case

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[wsaw.com – 2/10/21] MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of a Shawano County transgender woman who has been prohibited from changing her male name due to her listing on the state sex offender registry. … She argues that requiring her to register as a sex offender violates her First Amendment rights and forces her to identify herself as a male anytime she is required to present her legal name. Read the full article  

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WI: Would-be resident sues Hartland, calls ban on more sex offenders unconstitutional

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[jsonline.com – 4/21/21] Karsten _____, 34, has been living with his parents in Nashotah, but he would like to move out to his own place in Hartland to be closer to his job but not too far from family. Hartland’s police chief has warned Karsten _____ he’s not welcome, citing the village’s moratorium on any more sex offenders living there. In a federal lawsuit, Karsten _____ contends that the village’s 2018 ordinance, applied retroactively, amounts to an illegal ex post facto law, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The “designated…

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WI: Wisconsin judge charged with seven child pornography counts

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[citynews1130.com – 3/17/21] MADISON, Wis. — Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin judge with multiple counts of possession of child pornography Wednesday. State Department of Justice attorneys filed seven felony counts against Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Brett _____. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Brett _____, 38, was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Wednesday in Dane County. His attorney, listed in online court records as Chris Van Wagner, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Read the full article  

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WI: Out of the Shadows: After leaving prison sex offenders face a maze of rules and restrictions

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[kenoshanews.com – 11/30/20] The list of potential restrictions is long and full of stumbling blocks. “You shall not gain nor attempt to gain access to the internet without prior agent approval.” “You shall not possess nor view any material that depicts any intimate parts of an adult.” “You shall not establish, pursue, nor maintain any dating, romantic or sexual relationship without prior agent approval.” “You shall not be present in any location frequented by minor children without prior agent approval.” The rules can be so strict that advocates worry that…

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WI: Sex offenders can seek exemptions from rural residency restrictions

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[kenoshanews.com – 11/30/20] Despite a series of residency exemption requests by sex offenders over the last several years, rural town and village officials believe they have ordinances in place to both protect the public and provide areas for offenders to live. Towns and villages west of I-94 in Kenosha County amended their ordinances after rules in Pleasant Prairie were deemed by a court to be too restrictive. They create “safety zones” around areas where children congregate, such as parks, schools, and churches. “We feel that our in place Register Sex…

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