Vinehout wrote reference letter for man charged with child porn
MADISON – State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, who announced her run for governor this week, wrote a character reference letter in 2015 for a legislative attorney after he was charged with possessing child pornography.
The attorney, David Lovell, was convicted this summer of five felonies and sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision.
Lovell had served as a legislative attorney for a committee Vinehout chaired. In a November 2015 letter to the court — written after he was charged but before he was convicted — Vinehout praised his diligence and professionalism.
“He was always responsive, professional, thorough and dependable,” Vinehout wrote.
“I was shocked and disturbed when I learned of the allegations against Mr. Lovell. The allegations are completely inconsistent with the skilled expert I worked with for eight years. I never observed him engage in any behavior other than that of a dedicated professional.”
The Capital Times on Thursday first reported on the letter.
“My mother taught me to hate the sin but not shun the sinner,” Vinehout said in a statement.
Lovell was charged with 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography in 2015 in Dane County Circuit Court after agents found images of child pornography on a computer and external hard drive in his home. He pleaded no contest to five of the charges and prosecutors dismissed the other five, according to online court records.
He was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision and placed on the state’s sex offender registry.
Vinehout is part of a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge GOP Gov. Scott Walker next year. Also running: state School Superintendent Tony Evers, state Rep. Dana Wachs of Eau Claire and government reform activist Mike McCabe.