Family calls on WMC to take down TV ad in high court race

Reference to case can identify two child sexual assault victims

The heated state Supreme Court race took a startling turn when a Milwaukee family called on Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce to take down a television ad, claiming it identified two child victims of attempted sexual assault.

On Thursday, the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office issued a statement condemning the ad, saying it re-victimized the family and used them “for political gain.”

The ad by WMC Issues Mobilization Council targeted a decision by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet. Dallet faces Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock in Tuesday’s election. Neither campaign was involved in the ad.

In interviews, Screnock did not directly criticize the spot or call for it to be dropped, while Dallet urged her opponent to tell WMC to take down the ad.

The ad focused on Dallet’s 2011 sentencing of a man to two years in prison for an attempted sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl. A charge of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl was dismissed.

The man could have received a 20-year maximum sentence, but Dallet went along with a prosecutor’s recommendation.

In an interview that aired Wednesday, a family member of the victims told WTMJ-TV: “They are putting our name out there without even realizing what kind of damage they’re doing.”

The woman, whose identity was concealed, said she saw the ad Friday and contacted WMC Monday in a bid to have the spot taken off the air.

WMC has stood by the ad, saying it informs the public about “Judge Dallet’s repeated instances of giving light sentences to criminals who abuse children.”

“WMC Issues Mobilization Council is commenting on public issues that are being discussed in our state and participating in this public debate on criminal sentencing,” the group said in a statement.

“This particular communication merely repeats publicly available information from public records,” the group said.

In its coverage of the case, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has not identified the victims.

Screnock declined to call on WMC to change or drop the ad, saying he had only just learned of the controversy. He said some of the ads run by a thirdparty group that supports Dallet, as well as Dallet’s campaign, dealt with cases that also involved victims.

Those pro-Dallet ads, however, did not include information making it easy to identify a victim.

“Now with these (WMC) ads in particular, they’re not being run by our campaign and we don’t have any control over them,” Screnock said. “I believe that our electoral process works best when everyone who wants to be engaged … is able to speak. This is the way that WMC has chosen to speak.”

Dallet said it was “heartbreaking” to see the pain the family was forced to relive because of the ad.

“What’s truly shocking is that Michael Screnock failed to speak out quickly against the re-victimization” of the children and family. She charged that Screnock displayed a “lack of moral character and experience to know this is wrong.”

On Wednesday, an aide to Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel expressed concerns about the ad to WMC staff.

Schimel spokesman Johnny Koremenos said in a statement: “Attorney General Schimel has been an advocate of crime victim and First Amendment rights throughout his nearly 30-year law enforcement career. On Wednesday morning, DOJ staff communicated with WMC staff about the political ad, recognizing both WMC’s right to freedom of speech and discussing publicly available information, and concerns about information that can identify crime victims.”

Matthew J. Torbenson, a Milwaukee County deputy DA, sharply criticized the ad.

In a statement, Torbenson said: “A recent campaign ad that highlights a sexual assault case prosecuted in Milwaukee County disgracefully identifies the relationship of the offender to his victims, thereby re-victimizing the victims and family for political gain.”

He said the family reached out to the district attorney’s office “to express their sorrow and disdain for the fact that this tactic was employed with no consideration for its effects on victims. The Wisconsin Constitution recognizes that victims of crime shall be treated with fairness, dignity and respect for their privacy.”

For his part, Screnock said he respects the rights of victims.

“As a judge I take very seriously the concerns of victims and I do all I can in my courtroom to respect the rights of victims and to … respect what they’re going through and not make it worse,” he said.

Also Thursday, Dallet received an endorsement from former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, co-founder of Giffords. The group, which fights gun violence, also launched a radio ad backing Dallet.

“The people of Wisconsin have seen enough gun violence. They want public servants committed to upholding the law and keeping them safe. Judge Dallet has shown the courage to do that,” said Giffords, who was seriously wounded in a gun attack in 2011.