of Juneau County
The Messenger COLORS OF KENDALL VOL 15, NO. 11
LOOK INSIDE FOR YOUR LOCAL NEWS:
Elroy: Page 6 Mauston: Page 4 Necedah: Page 9
County: Page 3 Wonewoc: Page 14 Hillsboro: Page 12
Classifieds: Page 15 Legals: Page 16 & 17
THE AWARD WINNING OFFICIAL LEGAL NEWSPAPER OF JUNEAU COUNTY
New trial ordered in case against Coughlin In court on Tuesday morning Juneau County Judge John Roemer ruled that Daniel Coughlin of Lyndon Station would stand for a new trial on multiple charges of child sexual assault. That decision came as a result of an earlier mistrial which occurred this summer when, at the time, a jury trial was in process and evidence not disclosed came to light. Daniel Coughlin That evidence was in the form of video recordings of interviews law enforcement had with two alleged victims. During discovery and prior to the onset of the trial both the defense and prosecutors only had transcripts and audio of the interviews. It was not known that videos existed until after the defense called their expert witness, Dr. Jay W. Thompson, who provided testimony on the audio testimony provided to him. Donald Coughlin It was after that testimony when a Juneau County Detective discovered the video tapes and notified the court of their existence. It was then that Coughlin's attorney, Michael Ganzer, motioned the court for a mistrial claiming his defense of Coughlin may have gone a different route had he had the videos, including the testimony of the expert witness. With Judge Roemer's latest ruling that Coughlin would stand for a new trial, Ganzer motioned the court that the Juneau County Sheriff's Department should have to pay for his client’s legal costs. Ganzer told the court that his client has paid every nickel he had towards legal costs, including selling family land. He went on to state that Coughlin still owes money for legal fees and would not be able to sustain the costs of a new trial, and should not be forced to do so when at no fault of his client's there had been a mistrial. Judge Roemer stated he was not aware of caselaw allowing him to rule in favor of such a motion, but would entertain arguments. An oral ruling on the matter would be issued at a status conference scheduled for November 26, 2013. Donald Coughlin In court on Tuesday morning Judge John Roemer scheduled a jury trial in the State's case against Donald Coughlin of Lyndon Station. Donald, older brother to Daniel, is also facing numerous charges of child sexual assault. A prior jury trial had been put on hold at the request of his defense attorney, Dan Berkos, after the video tape interviews came to light during Daniel's trial. Due to a heavy court calendar and the 2014 summer deployment of one of the alleged victim's, the trial has been pushed out to February of 2015. In both cases special prosecutor Winn S. Collins from the Wisconsin Attorney General's office is acting on behalf of the State of Wisconsin.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2013
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Male subject wanted in abduction and sex assault of jogger BY EVA MARIE WOYWOD On Monday afternoon Juneau County Sheriff Brent Oleson issued a press release putting the public on notice that deputies are searching for a man who is believed to have abducted and sexually assaulted a 17 year old female in the Lyndon Station area. The press release states on September 24, at approximately 4:45 p.m., a 17 year old female was jogging on Koval Road between 65th Street and County Highway N when a male subject, age 30 – 50, stopped and asked if she needed a ride. When the victim stated that she did not, the subject exited his vehicle and grabbed her and forced her in the back seat of his vehicle. The victim stated the male sub-
Sheriff Oleson. The most recent incident believed to involve the same subject occurred on Thursday evening, October 10th. A female reported that a Sport SUV crossover type vehicle followed her home to her residence in the Village of Lyndon Station. The vehicle eventually left and drove east on Highway 12 & 16. The press release issued by Sheriff Oleson came just days after The Messenger was contacted on Saturday by private citizens giving information on the alleged crimes. It was at that time we were also alerted to an announcement/warning being shared on social media sites mentioning the Juneau County incidents and tying them into other similar incidents in neigh-
This video was picked up near Lyndon Station and is believed to be the vehicle the suspect was driving when he abducted the woman. ject advised her not to scream or run or he would harm her. The victim stated that the subject then got in the vehicle and drove toward Lyndon Station to an unknown wooded location. The victim stated the male subject then jumped into the back seat of the vehicle and sexually assaulted her. The victim stated that the subject then drove her back to where he had picked her up on Koval Road and let her out. "The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office had an incident similar to the one above in early September on Highway 33 east of Manmound Road, however, the alleged victim refuses to cooperate with law enforcement," stated
boring counties. We contacted Sheriff Oleson on Sunday in an effort to confirm the Lyndon Station assault, and to inquire if it was connected to crimes in other counties. "We held off on initially releasing this information as we were in communication with Sauk County who believed they had identified a suspect," said Sheriff Oleson. He went on to state that the lead eventually ran cold. The subject wanted by Juneau County Sheriff's Department is a white male who weighs between 180 to 200 pounds. He stands between 5'10 and 6' tall. An identifying feature is one of the subjects ears has a gauge - a type of body piercing.
A composite drawing of the suspect wanted by police. If anyone has any information on they are asked to contact the Juneau County Sheriff’s Office at (608) 847-5649 or Crimestoppers at (608) 8479123. Callers can remain anonymous. Additionally, if you see any suspicious vehicles or subjects call 911 immediately and report it. At this time it is believed the subject is not connected to similar September incidents which occurred in Monroe County. In those incidents, an announcement from the Monroe County Sheriff's Department stated: The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is reporting a hit and run crash between two vehicles and an attempted kidnapping. There were no injuries as a result of the hit and run matter. The matter occurred on 09-0913 around 6:00 a.m. on County Highway O just north of Destiny Avenue in the Township of Lincoln. The suspect’s vehicle is a lighter colored Ford Taurus which fled the scene (this would be estimated as a 1996 to 1999 model range). The vehicle should have damage to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. There might be a dark colored paint transfer on the suspect vehicle from the vehicle it struck. The driver of the suspect vehicle, is described as a white male, possibly age 18 to 25, with short spiky hair. The suspect was also described as wearing a white, zip up type, hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, and boots. After the collision occurred the male suspect attempted to force the
female driver out of the other vehicle into his car. The victim was able to escape and summoned help from another passing vehicle. There was another incident that occurred prior to the one above on the same day at approximately 4:30 a.m.. In this incident, a female subject pulled into a driveway with her vehicle. She said as she exited her vehicle, a male subject in a vehicle matching the same one as above had pulled in behind her wanting directions and then wanted her to show him where to go. That female was afraid and told him no. She quickly walked into the residence she was at. This was in the Flicker Road area, West of the City of Tomah. The male subject made a sexual comment to the female as she was walking towards the house. The male subject drove way. It is unknown if these matters are related, but vehicle description was similar. On Tuesday, October 15, the Messenger conducted a phone interview with Monroe County Sheriff Department Detective Clayton Tester. "We are pretty sure the subject we're looking for is not the same as the one described in the incidents in Juneau County," stated the detective. "Actually I am confident they are not the same," he went on to state. His confidence, he said, came from the fact that the descriptions of the subject in Juneau County varies greatly from the one in Monroe County.