Wisconsin Attorney General Visits Superior, Talks About Sexual Assault Prosecutor Training

SUPERIOR, Wis. – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul made a visit in Superior Wednesday to talk about the importance of properly prosecuting sexual assault cases.

He spoke to around of dozen prosecutors taking part in training from state experts on this subject, learning about how to help a victim going through trauma, building a proper case, and what information can be used during a possible trial.

“It fits into our broader efforts to strengthen Wisconsin’s response to sexual assault,” says Kaul.  “One of the things that we’ve worked to do is to get justice in cases where it was denied and it shouldn’t have been.”

Kaul says several initiative have been put in place to do this.  It includes having every sexual assault kit tested.  He points to a recent prosecution in southeast Wisconsin where DNA from one person has been connected to four sexual assault kits and charges were filed.

Another initiative is the Clergy and Faith Leader Initiative, where victims can report past misconduct.  This recently led to charges against Jeffery Anthony Charles in Douglas County.  The former pastor of Neighbors to Nations Church in Princeton, Minnesota, allegedly sexually assaulted the victim at a cabin he owned in the Town of Summit between 2005 and 2010.

“This is a serious violent crime that investigators and prosecutors in Wisconsin take seriously,” says Kaul, “that if you reach out, you are going to have somebody who listens to you, and is going to do everything they can to make sure that your case is fully and thoroughly investigated, and that if a prosecution can be brought that it will be and that justice will be vigorously pursued.”

Kaul says plans are to continue having every sexual assault kit tested, and to find a way to have them tracked so prosecutors across the state can access them easier.