WI - Prosecutor 'sexted' abuse victim, Chilton, 2010

[SunnieRN]

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/Ken-Kratz-text-messages

Here are the messages he sent.

Jerk.

This is not only going to date me, but let you all know I was once a 'valley girl',

gag me with a spoon! Grotesque!

 

[Mercyneal]

Prosecutor now says he will get therapy but won't resign.

From the Associated Press today: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j3RabQQP2C5H1Kvgh-TUM11KNPlAD9I9TSHO0

A Wisconsin district attorney said Friday he'll get therapy and consider taking time off work but won't resign despite the growing calls for him to step down over sexually-tinged text messages he sent to a domestic abuse victim.

Not good enough, pal. Go. Now. And I hope you're disbarred.

 

[jjenny]

Prosecutor now says he will get therapy but won't resign.

From the Associated Press today: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j3RabQQP2C5H1Kvgh-TUM11KNPlAD9I9TSHO0

A Wisconsin district attorney said Friday he'll get therapy and consider taking time off work but won't resign despite the growing calls for him to step down over sexually-tinged text messages he sent to a domestic abuse victim.

Not good enough, pal. Go. Now. And I hope you're disbarred.

It's rare for prosecutor to be disbarred, but certainly not impossible.

 

[jjenny]

I think it is the very height of ignorance and egotism that he refuses to resign. I am very angry about this. How dare he victimize a victim! And the ego is just huge! Just another drain on society taking advantage of anyone he deems lesser than himself.

I wonder if this is the only woman he send these kind ( "...a secret contact with an older married elected DA") of messages to?

 

[mikeysmommom]

WTH!!!! He should be throw out on his butt, and disbarred.The victim should threaten to sue then they would get rid of him.What a low life , victimizing a victim.I bet he has done this a zillion times.

 

[Fairy1]

This man has an inexplicably high opinion of himself. He considers himself a "prize?"

What a pig! Hope he is disbarred and his wife takes him for everything he owns!

 

[Mercyneal]

Wisconsin Governor Doyle Considering Action Against Calumet County DA:
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2010/sep/19/doyle-considerign-action-against-calumet-county-da/

MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) - A spokesman for the governor says Jim Doyle is talking with Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen about the possibility of taking action against the Calumet County District Attorney.

 

[Belinda]

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin district attorney caught sending racy text messages to a domestic abuse victim is going on medical leave.

In a press release Monday, Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz said the length of the leave has not been determined.

More at link:
http://headlines.verizon.com/headli..._us_article&_article=3087523&_ref=articlePage

 

[Belinda]

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin prosecutor caught sending racy text messages to a domestic abuse victim went on medical leave Monday and hired an attorney to help him keep his job.

snip

According to records obtained Monday by The Associated Press, Kratz started sending the texts minutes after he told the woman, Stephanie Van Groll, he was considering reducing the charge against ex-boyfriend - a move she did not support.

snip

Van Groll's attorney, Michael Fox, said the discussion of a lesser charge gave the text messages greater impact. Van Groll told police she felt pressured to bow to Kratz's wishes or worried he'd retaliate.

"She was frightened that, to the extent she didn't at least be civil to this district attorney, that charge might be lessened and her greatest fear was that it would be dropped altogether," Fox said. "Whether intended or not, it amplifies the harmful nature of the statements he made to her."

More at link:
http://headlines.verizon.com/headli...adlines_portal_page__article&_article=3087535

 

[Mercyneal]

He hired a lawyer to HELP him keep his job? Is he delusional? I also read an interview where he said he had to stay on because he was the only one who could work on the pending cases. He's in La-la land.

Governor Doyle: Please do the right thing and remove this guy. Now.

 

[Mercyneal]

ABC News is reporting that Governor Doyle is moving swiftly to remove Kratz:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wisconsin-...atz-admits-sexting-domestic/story?id=11684807

The Wisconsin prosecutor who admits sending dozens of racy text messages to a domestic violence victim with whom he was hoping to start an affair went on "medical leave" today, as the governor of his state pledged to move forward "very, very swiftly" with proceedings to remove him from office.

 

[RLynne]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo...cle_b806c9dc-c4f9-11df-83db-001cc4c002e0.html

Weeks after Calumet County District Attorney Kenneth Kratz was caught sending sexually charged text messages to a crime victim, he shared confidential details of a murder investigation with another woman and invited her to wear high heels to the victim's autopsy, according to a letter obtained Monday by the Wisconsin State Journal.

 

[DarkChii]

Ugh, what a slimeball :sick: I would have felt uncomfortable and worried too if I was them.

 

[Mercyneal]

Boston Globe: Wisconsin Governor Seeks Removal of DA:

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s governor said yesterday that he will start the process to remove a prosecutor caught sending sexually harassing text messages to a domestic abuse victim

At a news conference, Governor Jim Doyle said he was appalled by the behavior of Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz.

Read more here: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/09/21/wis_governor_seeks_removal_of_da/

 

[Belinda]

Craanen said he would argue that other district attorneys have committed more serious misconduct related to withholding evidence and kept their jobs.

From Mercyneal's link. So, other people have done worse things, so he should be excused? This is one of the most ignorant statements I have ever seen made by an attorney.

 

[ohiogirl]

Holy crap, what a slime ball. He can't really think that he can be effective as a DA after all this. Get lost, idiot. You are done.

 

[Mercyneal]

Now it is being reported that Wisconsin Attorney General J. B Van Hollen - a close political ally of Kratz's may be in trouble for not reporting Kratz to the Governor a year ago.

From the Capitol Times http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/editorial/article_b650711c-bf27-594f-8260-a222f531dfd5.html:

What Van Hollen, as the state’s chief law enforcement officer, does not have is the privilege of delaying or undermining an investigation that is now required to determine whether he abused his position.

Van Hollen is a longtime political ally of Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz, who sent text messages soliciting a sexual relationship with a domestic abuse victim whose case he was handling in his official capacity. Kratz has acknowledged sending 30 text messages to the woman over three days.

Van Hollen learned of the concerns regarding Kratz more than 11 months ago.

Yet he did not refer the case to Gov. Jim Doyle, who has the authority to remove district attorneys from office in cases of malfeasance, misconduct or neglect of duty.

 

[Belinda]

And the ball begins to roll downhill faster and faster.

 

[Belinda]

By RYAN J. FOLEY
MADISON, Wis. - A law student says a Wisconsin prosecutor under fire for sending racy text messages to a domestic abuse victim sent her similar texts in 2008 after agreeing to help her seek a pardon.

Maria Ruskiewicz (russ-KAH'-witz) told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she met Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz in his office in 2008 to discuss a decade-old drug conviction. Afterward, she says Kratz sent her text messages that soon turned harassing, including one that asked how she would please him in bed.

An Oklahoma City University of Law administrator confirmed that Ruskiewicz was so upset by the messages that they met in 2008 to discuss how to respond. A Wisconsin prosecutor also says Ruskiewicz told him last year about Kratz's conduct.

More at link:
http://headlines.verizon.com/headli...lines_portal_page_us_article&_article=3089431

 

[sfbaynancydrew]

All these coverups are just a reminder of how one layer of society lives by a completely different set of rules than the rest of us.

It seems the only way to get fair attention in matters like this is to take your evidence to the press. May justice be served for his victims and for society.