of Juneau County
The Messenger LOCAL GIVING TREES IN FULL SWING VOL 15, NO. 19
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County: Page 2 Wonewoc: Page 15 Hillsboro: Page 8
Classifieds: Page 16 Legals: Page 21
THE AWARD WINNING OFFICIAL LEGAL NEWSPAPER OF JUNEAU COUNTY
Pastor will serve Life in prison
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013
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BY EVA MARIE WOYWOD A former Necedah area pastor and resident of Tomah will be spending the rest of his life in the Wisconsin prison system. Michael Delaney, 66, was sentenced last week in Monroe County Court on convictions of sexual assault with a child under 16 years of age as a persistent repeater and five counts of child enticement. Delaney was convicted of the crimes in October by a jury of his peers. The life sentence was a mandatory sentence imposed on Delaney for the sexual assault as he has prior sexual assault convictions. The prior convictions came in 1982 when he served prison time for two counts of sexual abuse of a child in Arizona. The life sentence handed down last week came with an exclamation point of 50 additional years as he also received 10 years for each of the 5 counts of child enticement which are to be served consecutive to one another. During the sentencing hearing Judge Todd Ziegler did not mince his words as he handed down his decision when he stated that even if the sentence wasn't mandatory the court would still impose it. "There isn't really anything more serious than this other than homicide," he said. The serious crime occurred in 2008 when Delaney assaulted a 13 year old male victim. According to the original criminal complaint, the crimes happened over a period of time and involved using his position of power including teachings of faith to manipulate the victim while assaulting him. The young victim came forward with his story in 2011 and early in 2012 Delaney was charged. Those charges came within a few short months from Delaney retiring as Pastor from the Church of God of Prophecy in Necedah. The male victim, who is currently in the military, was not present for the sentencing hearing, however he did submit a written victim's impact statement that was read aloud during the court proceeding. In it he stated that he came forward and testified at trial to protect other victims. When The Messenger originally broke the story, early in 2012 on Delaney being held on possible charges of child sexual assault, we placed calls, and left messages at the Church of the God of Prophecy headquarters in Tennessee to ascertain whether or not they were aware of Delaney's prior criminal record in Arizona and if they had that information prior to him becoming a pastor in Necedah. Our calls and inquiries went unanswered.
CELEBRATION FOR NEW MAUSTON AREA AMBULANCE
Shaun Goyette, EMS volunteer, demonstrates the skills and training many on the squad have had which helps in saving lives as they debuted their new facility last Thursday. See the full story on page 5 of this issue.
More on the Transmission Line Last Wednesday afternoon Juneau County area residents involved with the advocacy group SOUL of Wisconsin met with state Rep. Ed Brooks at the Hatch Public Library in Mauston. The purpose of the meeting was to request that Brooks sign on to a letter written by SOUL to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) requesting a study and alternative to the high voltage power transmission line being proposed to run from La Crosse to Madison. Leading the meeting with Brooks was Mauston resident
Jane Powers who expressed to Brooks that the group has gathered the signatures of 80 plus area residents supporting their request to the PSC. Included in the letter Brooks’ constituents were looking for a signature on, they wrote: "My constituents are among Wisconsin residents who want the PSC to carefully study all options before committing their money to pay for such a huge and potentially avoidable expenditure. See LINE, on page 2