County judge faces child porn charges
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Brett Blomme was arrested Tuesday on tentative charges of possession of child pornography, the state Department of Justice announced.
Blomme, 38, was taken into custody by special agents with the state Division of Criminal Investigation “following an investigation into multiple uploads of child pornography through a Kik messaging application account in October and November 2020,” according to a statement.
Criminal charges are expected to be filed against Blomme on Wednesday. He was arrested in Dane County.
A 44-page search warrant filed Friday by a DCI special agent said investigators found Blomme, using the name “dommasterbb,” uploaded 27 videos and images containing child pornography. Two of the files were uploaded at a Milwaukee County government building, the search warrant said.
The special agent sought permission to search Blomme’s courtroom, chambers, houses in Milwaukee and Dane counties and his 2017 Audi. Blomme is currently assigned to Milwaukee County Children’s Court.
A Milwaukee County reserve judge signed off on the search warrant Monday afternoon.
Milwaukee County Chief Judge Mary Triggiano said she couldn’t discuss Blomme’s arrest.
“Due to the ongoing investigation and pending case, I am unable to comment,” Triggiano said in a statement. “Judge Blomme’s court calendar will be covered by another judge as needed, starting (Wednesday).”
Blomme was elected to the court in the spring 2020 election, defeating incumbent Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Paul Dedinsky, an appointee of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Before being elected, Blomme was the head of the board of zoning appeals for the City of Milwaukee, appointed to the post by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, and head of the Cream City Foundation, which provides grant money to LGBTQ groups in the Milwaukee area.
Blomme previously was director of
major gifts at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin for 18 months, following a stint at the Madison City Attorney’s Office. From 2011 to 2015, he practiced criminal defense with the State Public Defender’s Office. He is a graduate of Marquette University.
During the election, Blomme had to explain why he, his husband and their children live both in Milwaukee and the Madison area.
Blomme said his family lives in a small duplex on the city’s west side that the couple purchased in 2018. But he and his husband also bought a much larger home in the Village of Cottage Grove, a suburb of Madison, in April 2019 for $380,000.
Blomme said his husband held a very specialized position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and couldn’t find a similar job in Milwaukee. “Nothing has panned out,” Blomme said.
Blomme grew up on a farm in Missouri and came to Milwaukee to attend Marquette. He returned to Missouri for law school but came back to Wisconsin.
He ran as a liberal challenger to a conservative Walker appointee.
“I’m the progressive alternative,” he said during the campaign.
The investigation was led by the state Department of Justice with assistance from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Agencies involved include police departments in Wauwatosa, Cottage Grove and Brookfield, Racine County Sheriff ’s Office, Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.