Thread: Democrat Mayor arrested for attempted sexual assault of a child

The charges against Democrat Mayor Gary Becker



By Journal Times staff

Thursday, January 15, 2009 6:43 PM CST


- Attempted sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age. If convicted, he could face up to $50,000 in fines and up to 20 years imprisonment, which includes time in jail or prison and on extended supervision or probation.

- Child enticement. If convicted, he could face up to $100,000 in fines and 25 years imprisonment.

- Possession of child pornography. If convicted he could face up to $100,000 in fines and 25 years imprisonment. There is also a $500 surcharge for each image, and a minimum sentence of three years initial confinement, which a judge can order be served on probation.

- Use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. If convicted he could face $100,000 in fines and 40 years imprisonment. There is a minimum sentence of five years initial confinement, which a judge could order be served on probation.


- Attempted exposing a child to harmful material. If convicted he could face $10,000 in fines and nine months imprisonment.

- Misconduct in public office. If convicted, he could face up to $10,000 in fines and 3 ½ years imprisonment.


The Journal Times Online > Becker > The charges




DEMOCRAT MAYOR BECKER ARRESTED


By Marci Laehr Tenuta and Janine Anderson
Journal Times

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 10:03 PM CST

Visit www.journaltimes.com/becker for full coverage

RACINE — (Democrat) Mayor Gary Becker has been arrested on multiple felony charges related to attempted sexual assault of a child and having child pornography, according to a state agency.

Becker was taken into custody at Brookfield Square Mall in Brookfield on Tuesday afternoon. He was arrested on charges of child enticement, possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office, according to the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.

A complaint made to the Racine Police Department several weeks ago led to the arrest, according to Lt. Jim Dobbs, a department spokesman.

At a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday morning, Dobbs said that city police then contacted DCI, which took over the investigation.


Upon his arrest Becker was transported to the Kenosha County Jail, where he remained until early Wednesday evening. He was released about 5:30 p.m., a little more than an hour after sister-in-law Jean Becker posted his bond, which had been set at $165,000 cash.

His attorney, Patrick Cafferty, said the family borrowed money to post the bond. Cafferty picked Becker up at the jail.

Racine County Sheriff Bob Carlson said local authorities made the decision to move Becker to Kenosha. “It’s a better security process,” he said. “It’s not unusual.”


However, the case is still a Racine County case, according to Deputy District Attorney Rich Chiapete. Attorneys were drafting the complaint on Wednesday, but it had not been released. Chiapete said they couldn’t comment further until they received all of the paperwork on the investigation.

“We’re still waiting on reports,” Chiapete said. “We’re anticipating it’s going to be (Thursday)” that charges are formally filed.

If charges are filed, Becker would appear in Racine County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for an initial appearance.

District Attorney Mike Nieskes said the case would be handled by his office, and not given to a special prosecutor.

“We do not have a conflict,” Nieskes said. “While (Becker) is mayor in this community, I have no relationship with him and he has no direct relationship with this office.”

Had Becker been in charge of a law enforcement agency, it is more likely that a special prosecutor would have taken over because of the close relationship the District Attorney’s Office has with those agencies.

With charges coming out of the Racine County District Attorney’s Office, at least some of the alleged illegal activity must have happened here. The Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office could have filed charges, because Becker was arrested there, but Racine County has kept the case. Nieskes said his office is keeping Waukesha County informed about the case.

Racine Police Chief Kurt Wahlen said Wednesday morning that he was shocked by the allegations against Becker. He knew about the investigation when the department received the complaint, but said DCI handled it.

“They took the ball and ran with it,” Wahlen said. “We moved into the back seat.”

Bill Cosh, a spokesman for DCI, said Wednesday he was unable to provide any further details on their investigation. It has not been released where the child pornography was found, but City Attorney Rob Weber said no search warrants had been executed at City Hall.

Cosh would not say whether Becker’s arrest was part of an online sting through DCI’s Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. In the ongoing program, state agents pose as underage children online. Suspects make contact with the agents and set up meetings, oftentimes for sex with what they think is a minor.

When the suspected predator shows up at the meeting place, they are arrested.

The Journal Times Online > Local News > MAYOR BECKER ARRESTED

Racine is quite a small city and their mayor is not what you'd call a prominent Democrat. Is there a point to this thread? I'm only seeing five possibilities here:

a.) Democrat politicians are morally inferior to Republican ones
b.) an inordinate number of both Democrat and Republican politicians are morally inferior
c.) Democrat and Republican politicians are mere humans with the same human weaknesses that you'll find in the rest of society
d.) the 'liberal press' ignores such bombshell stories about obscure Democrat mayors while focusing on disgraced Republican national figures such as South Carolina Governor Sanford
e.) you're really drunk

I could probably agree with b.) or c.) but I don't think that either one is much of a revelation.

Racine population 199k. The Capital of Wisconsin, Madison, pop. 228k.

He was on the short list to run for a legislative seat. According to the newspaper article he is a "prominent figure in Democratic circles as well, most notably on the state level."


The article doesn't say whether a state discrimination complaint filed against him is racial or gender based.

The Journal Times Online > Becker > Becker rose to power and became the national face of Racine


I'll go with c.) Democrat and Republican politicians are mere humans with the same human weaknesses that you'll find in the rest of society

Originally Posted by attaboy

Racine population 199k. The Capital of Wisconsin, Madison, pop. 228k.

He was on the short list to run for a legislative seat. According to the newspaper article he is a "prominent figure in Democratic circles as well, most notably on the state level."


The article doesn't say whether a state discrimination complaint filed against him is racial or gender based.

The Journal Times Online > Becker > Becker rose to power and became the national face of Racine


I'll go with c.) Democrat and Republican politicians are mere humans with the same human weaknesses that you'll find in the rest of society

Glad to read your response, although I sense that men with power, expense accounts and travel opportunities such as politicians, professional athletes and rock stars misbehave a little more frequently than the average guy simply because they have more opportunities to do so.

Dateline says January. What's the latest?

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

Dateline says January. What's the latest?

The attorney for ex-mayor Becker (since resigned) is requesting a change of venue out of Racine County to find an impartial jury.

Former Racine Mayor Wants Sex Sting Trial Relocated - Milwaukee News Story - WISN Milwaukee

It's been confirmed, by the way, that this was a police sting operation. In the USA, the police frequently troll the Internet and set up meetings between child predators and police posing as teenagers. There is even a national TV show where the rendezvous is taped, with a reporter walking into the middle of the meeting to question the embarrassed predator, followed by an arrest (usually a group of police with weapons drawn). The arrested typically spends a year or two in jail.