Wisconsin DA caught ’sexting’ abuse victim denies he asked 2nd woman on date to see autopsy

Wis. DA denies asking woman on date to an autopsy

MADISON, Wis. — The attorney for a Wisconsin prosecutor caught sending sexually-harassing text messages to a domestic abuse victim denied on Tuesday that he invited another woman on a date to witness an autopsy.

The second woman complained to Gov. Jim Doyle’s office last week that Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz invited her to a woman’s autopsy after they went to dinner “provided I act as his girlfriend and would wear high heels and a skirt.” The governor blasted Kratz’s behavior on Monday as an “unimaginable” abuse of power if true.

Kratz’s attorney, Bob Craanen, said the district attorney did go on a date with the woman in January and did get a call about an autopsy while at dinner — but never invited her to the autopsy. The woman never complained at the time and is “coming out of the woodwork now,” Craanen said.

“It’s completely bogus,” Craanen said about the autopsy accusation.

Kratz has acknowledged sending 30 text messages in three days last year to the domestic abuse victim while he was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend. In the messages, Kratz asked whether the woman was “the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA,” and called her a “tall, young, hot nymph.”

On Monday, Doyle said he would start the process to consider removing Kratz and that he hopes to make a decision in a month. At a news conference five days after The Associated Press broke the story, Doyle said any prosecutor who would have behaved that way on his watch would have faced repercussions.

“It troubles me deeply that somebody turns to the criminal justice system for help and receives the kinds of texts we have seen,” said Doyle, a former district attorney and attorney general who leaves the governor’s office in January.

Under state law, the governor must first receive an official complaint about Kratz’s behavior from a Calumet County taxpayer before he can begin the process of removing him. As soon as the two-term Democrat receives the complaint, he said he promises to move “very, very quickly.”

Doyle said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that Kratz would have the right to defend his actions in a hearing.

The governor also said he wants to look into why no action was taken after something about Kratz was reported to the state’s Office of Lawyer Regulation. An investigator in that office closed the case without taking action in March, saying Kratz’s behavior was inappropriate but did not violate rules governing attorney conduct.

In the letter made public by Doyle’s office on Monday, the second woman claimed she met Kratz through an online dating site and eventually went out to dinner with him. The woman said Kratz talked to detectives about a high-profile missing woman investigation in front of her and gave her confidential details before the autopsy invitation. The woman said she ended contact after a “few frustrating days.”

Doyle’s office redacted the name of the woman, but the governor said the letter was released after his office talked with her. Doyle called Kratz’s behavior related to the autopsy the most troubling.

“To have an autopsy be used as a premise for a social engagement is just beyond anything anybody could imagine,” he said.

State law gives the governor the power to remove district attorneys for cause, but the process has been rarely used. Doyle said he used the law to briefly suspend a district attorney charged with a crime in 2006; that official was restored to office after being acquitted.

Craanen cautioned against a media-driven rush to judgment and blasted the governor’s office for not returning his phone calls to discuss the case.

“I don’t understand why there’s such a quick process to remove him,” he said.

Kratz apologized for the text messages and said he would get therapy last week. He announced Monday he’s going on medical leave indefinitely and did not return phone messages seeking comment on the second woman’s claims.

Kratz has rejected calls to resign from lawmakers, his peers and victims’ advocates. Kratz, 50, has been the district attorney in the rural eastern Wisconsin area since 1992. He is not up for re-election until November 2012.

According to records obtained Monday by AP, Kratz started sending the texts minutes after he told the woman, Stephanie Van Groll, he was considering reducing the charge against her ex-boyfriend — a move she did not support.

Kratz was prosecuting Van Groll’s ex-boyfriend, Shannon Konitzer, for felony strangulation and misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Authorities say Konitzer grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground in a jealous rage, got on top of her and strangled her with both hands. She eventually got away and called police.

Van Groll told state investigators the text messages started coming after she met with Kratz to be interviewed about the case. She said she thought it was odd he asked at the end whether she would mind if he reduced the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, according to the Division of Criminal Investigation records.

Van Groll’s attorney, Michael Fox, said the discussion of a lesser charge gave the subsequent text messages greater impact. Van Groll told police she felt pressured to bow to Kratz’s wishes or worried he’d retaliate.

“Whether intended or not, it amplifies the harmful nature of the statements he made to her,” Fox said.