[James]

This is one of the articles dealing with the situation in question . . what do you think?

DADS MADE INTO SEXUAL PREDATORS

by James Novak

On June 24, 1997, Kevin Gillson appeared in the court of Judge Wolfgram in Ozaukee County courthouse to receive his sentencing for the statutory rape of Stephanie Domiani. Kevin, 18, had last month been found guilty of felony sexual assault against Stephanie, 15, in a matter of consensual sex between them. They had been planning to marry. Judge Wolfgram was facing multiple pressures from the community, national and local media, the jury who found Kevin guilty at the trial, and protesters. The judge had given such limited jury instructions that Kevin could only be found guilty. Judge Wolfgram did not inform the jury that they have not only the right, but the duty to pass judgment, not only on the facts of the case, but on the law. A jury has a right to vote their conscience.

After the jury found Kevin guilty based on limited instructions from the judge, they immediately signed a letter to Governor Thompson asking that Kevin be pardoned. Gladys Ebert, one of the jurors said, "We were commanded (by the judge) to find him guilty. We didn’t know that we could have found him not guilty. We did our damage not knowing the penalties." One of the penalties is that Kevin must now register as a sexual predator for child sexual abuse.

The sentencing hearing began by a long unrepentant statement by Sandy Williams, the District Attorney, who brought the case. She insisted on the stereotypical "Stephanie is a victim" while "Kevin is a felonious criminal." She put all responsibility for what had happened on Kevin. As District Attorney, Williams has been on the defensive. Everybody seems to be angry with her from comments by sheriff's deputies about wasting taxpayer money on their overtime pay to common citizens openly stating in the crowd that she lacked the professional judgment to be in her job. The feeling was such that when District Attorney Williams exited the courthouse, the large crowd composed equally of men and women booed her. When Kevin came out, he was cheered. Dave Howard who described himself as a friend of the families of the victims, stated, "There were no victims except those created by the state."

District Attorney Williams insisted that 15-year-old Stephanie was only a child and cannot give consent. If this is true then how is it that Stephanie can have an abortion without parental consent? Let’s see if I understand this correctly. Stephanie at 15 is not old enough to consent to having sex, but is old enough to determine if a fetus shall live or die! District Attorney Williams and the state of Wisconsin lack credibility in their logic.

Sandy Valenvia, Kevin’s aunt, sat next to me in the courthouse during the sentencing hearing. She told me that Kevin is a typical teenage kid. Schools should be teaching the boys that they are legally endangered when they date younger women in high school. Instead they teach safe sex to the youngsters and give them condoms. Why didn’t District Attorney Williams indict the school as a co-conspirator? The crux of the problems is that our society and perhaps nature itself pairs young men with younger women by 2-4 years. This is not a problem when people are in their 20’s or 30’s. As the judge stated, the problem exists when these teenagers are in the same peer group. The population who are entrapped by this legal charade are junior and senior young men who are 18 and dating, as society expects, freshmen and sophomore young women.

How did District Attorney Williams ever get into this fracas which will probably eliminate her from ever holding another politically elected office? Stephanie became pregnant and with the consent of both parents to marry, Kevin and Stephanie were spending many hours planning for their marriage. Given their age there was much to plan, but they were trying as best as they could for their age to work out a plan. At the pre-sentencing trial what came out was that Stephanie and her mother got into an argument, which appeared to Kevin, to have gotten out of hand. He called the police because he feared the fetus would be harmed. The police came and took a report which, eventually, led to Kevin being summoned to face felony sexual assault charges from District Attorney Williams. At the first hearing, District Attorney Williams immediately created havoc in the lives of Kevin and Stephanie by asking the court to issue a no-contact order. Judge Wolfgram lacked the wisdom to anticipate the damage the restraining order would cause, still he granted it. Plans for marriage or care for the future baby came to a halt with the issuance of the no-contact order. Their pastor, Rev. George Jorenby, testified to the court, that after the no-contact order, counseling stopped and no further mutual plans for care of the child could continue. Gillson quit school to get a job so that his wife and child would not be on welfare and so that there would be health benefits for the child.

There has been about 580 cases where young men like Kevin have been prosecuted under this state law with all the cases being settled by the young men copping a plea with probation. But two things changed here. The State of Wisconsin has passed its own Meegan law in which by copping a plea, Kevin must register as a sex predator and sexual child abuser wherever he lives. Kevin did what no other young man has done and entered a plea of not guilty. By doing so, he essentially put the statutory rape law on trial when it involves young people within the same peer group. What District Attorney Williams did not anticipate is that the community would turn on her for failure to use common sense. Kevin decided he is not and would not enter a no-contest, admitting that he is a sexual predator, because he was not and is not. His attorney, Doug Stansbury, cleverly took the case to the media. The power in his tactic is that every parent, mother or father, with a teen male in high school understands that their child is vulnerable to this law which is defective in dealing with those of high school age.

Kevin’s mother testified that she has spoken weekly with Stephanie and that Stephanie did not want to face the media at the sentencing hearing. She stated, "that Stephanie wanted the judge to lift the no-contact order and not order any jail time for Kevin." She also reported "that Stephanie felt that she had been cheated by the state’s actions."

In and outside the courthouse, Nicole San Felippo, who described herself as Stephanie’s best friend, filled in details that the law did not permit to be admitted as evidence at the trial. She said that, "Stephanie had told her that she would tell guys that she was 17 and she had slept with many guys who were over 18 years old." Oh, my god, Port Washington is contaminated with a city full of sexual predators! If the jury had been told this additional information about Stephanie’s sexual habits, and that Kevin was still willing to marry her, they might have begun to judge him St. Kevin. It now appears paternity may become an issue! Due to the no-contact order, Kevin does not know if Stephanie and he will marry. He has agreed to take responsibility for the child, but the events precipitated by this trial have wreaked havoc in many people’s lives.

Kevin was sentenced to two years probation. He must go to counseling and parenting classes as a condition of probation and pay for court costs. Judge Wolfgram encouraged him to return to school to get his high school diploma and ordered that if Kevin did so, his child support order would be 100 hours of community service. This sentence was reasonable, but could have been avoided by the judge dismissing the charges from the start or giving the jury more expanded instructions on their rights and duties. The judge explained that there was nothing he could do about Kevin having to register as a sexual predator and child abuser. He will have to give DNA samples to the police in any community in which he lives. America has not gotten over its neuroticism on sexual matters. While the registration law addresses a problem of recidivism among child abusers, the wrong it creates is worse than the problem to be corrected. Our system of government is based upon conviction and cleansing by punishment. Because of the U.S. Supreme Court Decision of June 22, 1997, released child molesters can now be placed in mental institutions for the rest of their lives. Well, if they are mentally ill, then why are they ever placed in jail? Why are they not given treatment in jail? People in Port Washington are both aghast and amused by Kevin being called a sexual predator. They know this to be just so much nonsense.

When District Attorney Williams came out of the courthouse with seven guards surrounding and protecting her, we know it was she who needed the protection. Kevin Gillson walked out of the courthouse accompanied by his loving family who has stood by him throughout this ordeal. One person in the crowd shouted out at District Attorney Sandy Williams, "You are the predator who has victimized these two young people."

It’s tough to be a responsible dad even when you try!