Monday, May 12, 2025
Plea offer accepted in child sexual assault case
Caroline Neal
RACINE — A 31-year-old Racine man accused of sexually assaulting a child accepted a plea offer during a May 6 hearing.
In August, Alec Venable pleaded not guilty to one count of second degree sexual assault of a child and one count of child enticement with sexual contact.
With the offer, Venable pleaded guilty to the sexual assault charge, and the child enticement charge was dismissed but read in.
Online court records show Venable is scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing July 11.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, Racine Police Department officers responded to a call about a “suspicious circumstance” at Pershing Park on May 19, 2023.
A girl, who was then 15, reportedly told RPD that a man in a car approached her the previous night. The girl also reportedly told police she had run away from home and had asked the man to drive her to a shelter.
Previous reporting details that Venable allegedly drove the girl to his home and assaulted her.
The next morning, he reportedly drove her to a skatepark near Pershing Park. Venable allegedly attempted to prevent the girl from leaving but drove away when she walked toward three city workers.
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Saturday, May 10, 2025
71-year-old sentenced in child pornography case
Caroline Neal
RACINE — A 71-year-old Racine man has been sentenced to five years in prison for possessing child pornography.
During a March 4 hearing, Robert Castaneda, who was originally charged with 16 counts of possessing child pornography, accepted a plea offer from the state and pleaded guilty to three of the charges.
The remaining charges were dismissed but read into the court’s record.
For each charge, Castaneda will serve five years in prison and three years of extended supervision. Each sentence will run concurrent to the others.
According to previous Journal Times reporting, the Internet Crimes Against Children unit, which is a division of the Racine County Sheriff’s Office, began investigating in May 2024 after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The tip consisted of alleged downloads of child sexual assault materials linked to a Racine residence.
On July 22, ICAC investigators and computer analysts from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigations executed a search warrant at the residence.
Investigators reportedly found electronic storage devices with more than 10,000 images and videos of child sexual assault materials.
According to a criminal complaint, Castaneda reportedly admitted to viewing child pornography on his phone and laptop.
Friday, May 9, 2025
Cops Gone Wild: Milwaukee moving toward $7 million settlement in police misconduct suit, city's 2nd largest ever
David ClareyAlison Dirr
Milwaukee is poised to pay the second-largest settlement in the city's history over a federal police misconduct civil rights lawsuit that will cost nearly $7 million.
The $6.96 million payment would end a nearly two-year-long legal case between the city and Danny Wilber, whose 2005 homicide conviction was overturned after a federal appeals court found his trial was unfair.
"I understand that this is a massive dollar amount, represents one of the largest settlements in city history, and I would just note that these cases where individuals — Mr. Wilber spent 18 years in prison — are very difficult," City Attorney Evan Goyke told the council's Finance and Personnel Committee on May 7.
On May 8, the city's Judiciary and Legislation Committee recommended approving the settlement — though not before members had strong words about the agreement and actions by the Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge that led to the overturning of Wilber's conviction.
Ald. Mark Chambers Jr. labeled the judge "incompetent" and the cost to Milwaukee taxpayers "bullshit."
"I'm just extremely frustrated that we're at this point," he said.
Ald. Robert Bauman agreed, saying the situation resulted from a judge making "some pretty bad decisions."
"This time, the Milwaukee Police Department didn't do much to warrant a $7 million settlement," he said. "I mean, it's questionable whether they did anything wrong, and that the plaintiff simply had to drum up some kind of claim against MPD to have the city left holding the bag."
Council President José G. Pérez, too, said the city was "paying the price for some bad judgment and it's inexcusable."
The settlement still needs approval from the Common Council and Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
Wilber's case alleged that former Milwaukee Police Department officers violated his rights by fabricating evidence and omitting evidence suggesting his innocence. He spent nearly 18 years in prison over the 2004 murder of David Diaz, but Wilber always maintained his innocence.
Wilber's settlement only lags behind a $7.5 million 2019 settlement for Robert Lee Stinson, a man who was wrongfully incarcerated for 24 years.
The city is self-insured, meaning taxpayers bear the costs of any settlement. Police-related settlements have long proven costly for the city.
The city is expected to borrow the funds to cover the settlement, which exceeds the $5 million fund known as the "contingent fund" that the city could have used to cover a smaller unexpected sum.
The payment will be made as a lump sum. That means the interest over 10 years could be expected to total just under $2.1 million, city Comptroller Bill Christianson said. That would bring the total costs to taxpayers to about $9 million.
On May 7, the Finance and Personnel Committee debated legislation approving the borrowing. The committee ultimately sent the legislation to the full Common Council without a recommendation because the Judiciary and Legislation Committee was not scheduled to take up the underlying settlement until the next day.
That means when the council meets on May 13, one of the 15 members will have to move for adoption of the legislation permitting the borrowing.
The $6.96 million settlement will add to the city's bill. In February, the city spent $300,000 to hire a Chicago law firm to litigate the case.
An attorney for Wilber did not respond to Journal Sentinel requests for comment.
Lawsuit alleged officers coerced witnesses, fabricated statements
Wilber's civil rights lawsuit was filed in 2023.
It alleged the city and nine former Milwaukee Police Department officers violated his rights by fabricating evidence and omitting evidence suggesting his innocence. Two officers are dead, and their estates were named instead.
If approved by the full council next week, the settlement will end a case that stems from events that took place over two decades ago.
Wilber was convicted of homicide but has always fought the details of the case against him. His conviction was ultimately reversed due to reasons outside of the investigation into the death, but questions have long lingered over the details.
U.S. District Judge William Griesbach overturned Wilber's case in a 2020 decision due to him being shackled in front of the jury, which the judge argued can imply guilt. In its 2021 opinion upholding the lower court decision to overturn Wilber's conviction, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals noted the "difficulties" with the evidence for prosecuting him.
The decision to overturn the verdict left open the option for the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office to pursue a new trial, but the office declined to do so due to the case's age and problems posed by the evidence.
"The evidence certainly was not overwhelming," Assistant District Attorney Paul Tiffin said in 2022.
Among the defendants in Wilber's lawsuit is Ruben Burgos, a former Milwaukee Police Department detective and current member of the city's Fire and Police Commission. The commission is the city's oversight body for its fire and police departments, with it handling the hirings of chiefs and employee discipline appeals.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson previously defended the appointment of Burgos to the commission.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.
Charges filed in connection to pursuit that ended in death of 72-year-old
Caroline Neal
RACINE — A 36-year-old Racine man is facing one count of first-degree reckless homicide in connection to the April 19 police pursuit that ended in the death a 72-year-old man.
Adonis Martin also was charged with one count of vehicle operator flee/elude officer resulting in the death of another, one count of vehicle operator flee/elude officer causing damage to property, one count of hit and run of an attended vehicle, and one count of tampering with a global positioning system tracking device.
Each count reflects that Martin was charged as a repeat offender, following a 2020 Racine County case in which he was convicted of aggravated battery intending bodily harm.
Online court records show Martin’s cash bond was set at $1,000,000 during a May 6 court hearing. Martin is next scheduled to appear in court May 14.
According to a criminal complaint, Racine Police Department officers attempted to stop a Ford Taurus near 11th Street and Pearl Street.
The Taurus reportedly accelerated away from police and crashed into another vehicle, then continued at speeds of 50-60 mph.
Additional officers joined the pursuit westbound on Victory Avenue.
At the intersection of Victory and Lathrop avenues, the Taurus allegedly ran a stop sign and collided with a black 2007 Honda Ridgeline driven by Daniel Brown, according to previous Journal Times reporting.
The criminal complaint states that Brown was found unconscious and not breathing. He was flow to a hospital, but on April 20 died as a result of his injuries.
According to the complaint, there was an active warrant for Martin that was issued after he reportedly cut off a Department of Corrections GPS bracelet on April 7.
Clergy Gone Wild: New Pope accused of ‘looking the other way’ over sex abuse allegations against priests
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Cops Gone Wild: Bodycam video showed troopers' suspicious call after chase, crash
SCJ to host AI-focused event Thursday
Caroline Neal
RACINE — SC Johnson is hosting another Community Interest Program, with this week’s event focusing on what AI means for the future.
The presentation is scheduled for 6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at the Golden Rondelle Theater, 1525 Howe St.
Attendees will gain a better understanding of how to boost creativity, analyze data and stay secure.
The program is a partnership with Badger Talks and PBS Wisconsin and will be recorded by PBS Wisconsin for later broadcast.
Patrick McDaniel, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and member of UW-Madison’s Speakers Bureau, will lead the event, which is structured as a presentation, although audience members can engage in the conversation, ask questions and share their experiences.
SC Johnson’s Community Interest Programs are meant to be “thought-provoking, relatable and inspiring,” and the topics are chosen by considering what the company thinks the community will find interesting.
The company said it hopes “attendees leave feeling hopeful for the future and comfortable with AI.”
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