Human Trafficking Has Been Documented in More Than Half of All Wisconsin Counties

Details of Ken Kratz's Rape Case by Shawn Attwood


Between Ken Kratz and Steven Avery, the one most capable of abducting and raping Teresa Halbach is Kratz, who also could have sold her to a sex ring.











"Kratz should have to register as a sex offender and be completely stripped of his license! Kratz blames his behavior on drugs. Well, if that's the case, he should also be ordered to court for drug testing. He is the classic example of a habitual sexual predator. Because he is or was a officer of the courts he should be made an example of, and his crimes should not just swept under the rug! A deviant pervert that used his status to manipulate abused women by threats for his own sexual perversion. Frankly, people like him are the most dangerous in society because they abuse their position and get away with it." - Kim Phillips, youtube.com

"Ken Kratz needs to go, and the rest of all the police in this County. Anytime a women is raped and the justice system turns their back because he's a good ole boy, I'm telling you, karma will work its way around to him and the rest for the framing of Steven and Brenden." - Carole Davis, youtube.com

"Kratz is a sick, sick and deeply hypocritical man! He held a press conference after Brendan Dasey's 'confession' and gave those details with a faked pious expression, but now we know he must be secretly jizzing himself, conjuring up those images of women in bondage, describing with malignant glee Avery apparently shackling Teresa Halbach on the bed, and spewing many other sordid descriptions and lies to poison the jury pool. He himself was deeply involved in ACTUAL disgraceful acts such as rape. This man should be locked up with the keys thrown away forever!" - Scd Observer, youtube.com

"I am the most notable prosecutor in Wisconsin history because of the Steven Avery case." - Ken Kratz, May 2010 (page 19)

Prosecutors have won only three human trafficking convictions in Wisconsin, despite widespread reports that the crime takes place in nearly every corner of the state. The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance reports that trafficking has been documented in more than half of all Wisconsin counties, in both rural and urban areas. To date, more than 200 victims have been identified. Since 2000, about one in six victims reported in Wisconsin was a minor. Worldwide, human trafficking generates $32 billion a year, according to a United Nations agency called the International Labour Organization.

There is not conclusive evidence that Teresa Halbach's body was found. What if she had been trafficked into the sex industry?

Sex-trafficking Cases Hard to Crack in Wisconsin
Shereen Siewert, Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald  
March 26, 2014

WAUSAU, Wis. — On an October day in 2010, a 22-year-old woman strolled along National Avenue in Milwaukee, headed to a friend's home to spend the night.

An SUV pulled up alongside her. The door opened, and a stocky, bearded man jumped from the driver's seat, grabbed her by the jacket and threw her into the back of the vehicle. Frantic, she tried to call her friend for help, but the call never went through.

"I've been looking for you," the man said as he grabbed her phone away.

What followed — authorities said — were nine days of forced sexual encounters with multiple men and other assaults that ended in Wausau, Wis. The incidents eventually led to Wisconsin's first successful prosecution of sex trafficking, in which people are forced or coerced into sexual slavery.

The case illustrates both the depravity of trafficking and the challenge of bringing the perpetrators to justice. Prosecutors have won only three human trafficking convictions in Wisconsin, despite widespread reports that the crime takes place in nearly every corner of the state.

In November, The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent found that while 40% of women arrested for sex work faced criminal charges, 99% of men arrested for patronizing prostitutes were released unscathed.

In line with the report, Appleton and Grand Chute, Wis., police and county prosecutors said they were adjusting policies to take a harder stance on johns, while offering more options for women potentially trapped in the world of sex trafficking.

"Trafficking looks different ways — some girls are groomed for this since birth," said Nicole Tynan, an anti-trafficking advocate with Reach Counseling Services. "I see just (as) many black women from Milwaukee as Asians from here and underage girls. It's everywhere."

The Oshkosh Police Department enlisted Tynan to assist with potential sex trafficking victims who are arrested for various offenses. It gives her a chance to speak with them about options for "getting out of the life," she said.

The partnership is just one example of how law enforcement officials have spent the last year strengthening prevention efforts for trafficking in the Fox Valley, Tynan said.

"The year 2013 came and it was like a bomb went off," Tynan said of the increase in law enforcement efforts and public awareness.

A successful prosecution

According to police reports and a transcript of court testimony in the Wausau case:

The victim recognized her attacker as a man who had assaulted her at a Milwaukee casino months earlier. In that encounter, she escaped and ran to her mother's house but never called police.

The man, later identified as 40-year-old Derrick Thornton, drove to a nearby hotel and dragged the woman to a room, tore her book bag from her arms and stripped off her clothes. Then, the reports say, Thornton raped her. And that was just the beginning.

“Trafficking looks different ways — some girls are groomed for this since birth.”

Thornton took photos of the woman and gave her a new name: Minnie. The photos were posted as part of an advertisement for adult escort services on an Internet classified site called Backpage.com. Soon, the calls started rolling in.

For nine straight days, "Minnie" was sold for sex, passed off to dozens of nameless, faceless men. Thornton didn't sit still. He moved her from hotel to hotel, from city to city.

Minnie told police she thought of running away, but was terrified her tormentor would find her and the abuse would worsen. And she testified that she really had nowhere else to go.

Hours after arriving at the Days Inn in Wausau on Oct. 23, 2010, Minnie made her escape. According to the police report, she ran to the hotel's front desk and begged for help. The desk clerk locked Minnie in a conference room until police arrived. Investigators documented Minnie's story, took photos of the welts and bruises on her body and arrested Thornton a short time later — putting an end to the nightmare that Minnie endured for more than a week.

Prosecutors charged Thornton with human trafficking. Thornton's March 2012 conviction marked the first successful prosecution of a human trafficking case in Wisconsin.

Thornton, who is serving a 17-year prison sentence, appealed his conviction in February, claiming his lawyer was ineffective. Thornton now represents himself.

Hundreds of victims; billions in revenue

Sex trafficking is a lucrative business. While a gram of heroin can be sold just once, a man, woman or child can be sold repeatedly. Worldwide, human trafficking generates $32 billion a year, according to the International Labour Organization, a United Nations agency.

The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance reports that trafficking has been documented in more than half of all Wisconsin counties, in both rural and urban areas.To date, more than 200 victims have been identified. Since 2000, about one in six victims reported in Wisconsin was a minor.

"I don't know if we're seeing more reports of trafficking because it's happening more or just that we're more aware of it," said Marathon County Deputy District Attorney Theresa Wetzsteon, who prosecutes the bulk of sex crimes in the county. "I just know it's happening more than we can even handle."

Prosecuting Thornton was no easy task. Like most human trafficking stories, other factors come into play.

The fine line between willing prostitute and trafficking victim can be difficult to define. Popular images of human trafficking include people held under lock and key. More commonly, Wetzsteon said, traffickers use more subtle means to control their victims, such as psychological coercion and threats of violence.

Often, sex-traffickers target vulnerable people with histories of abuse. They use violence, threats, false promises and other forms of control to keep victims firmly entrenched in the sex industry. Children are frequent targets.

Still, few suspects in Marathon County accused in prostitution-related crimes have been charged with felony trafficking — in part because alternate charges are easier to prosecute, Wetzsteon said. Proving trafficking is difficult because state law puts the burden on victims, who have to prove the trafficking was done without their consent.

That makes coming forward even more difficult for victims, who often fear they might be prosecuted.

In Thornton's case, Wetzsteon said, prosecutors were able to prove that Minnie was not a willing participant.

"Derrick Thornton used the threat of physical violence to force the victim into prostitution," Wetzsteon said. "That's what made this case cross the threshold from pimping into trafficking."

Determining jurisdiction also can be complicated in human trafficking cases since victims frequently are moved across state lines. But the penalties are steep. A human trafficking conviction carries a maximum prison term of 25 years. The penalty shoots up to 40 years when a child is involved.

The child sex trade

Only two other suspects, Jermaine Rogers, 39, of Milwaukee and Paul Ketring, 43, of Verona, have been convicted on trafficking charges, according to court records.

Human trafficking victims come from a variety of backgrounds, including middle- and upper-class families. Poverty is one of many factors that make people vulnerable to exploitation.

Nationally, the average age of a new child prostitute is 13, according to the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Dana Brueck, the department's spokeswoman, said child sex trafficking typically involves the Internet, "either for traffickers to advertise, to communicate with possible victims and offenders, or to distribute sexually explicit images of child victims."

Nationwide, at least 100,000 children are being exploited through pornography or prostitution every year, according to Shared Hope, an agency that works with the victims of the child sex trade.

"There is one key difference in child trafficking cases," Wetzsteon said. "When an adult is involved, we have to prove they were coerced or forced into the act. When children are involved, that's not even a question."

Human Trafficking Spreading Through Wisconsin
By Doug Schneider, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
June 6, 2015

Story Highlights

    Experts: Human trafficking often linked with drug dealing, sexual assault and robberies
    Worldwide, human trafficking generates $32 billion a year, according to a United Nations agency

To Sister Celine Goessl, the news was tragic but not surprising. 

Police who staged a raid at a Fox Valley motel in April found a 17-year-old Green Bay girl and a 14-year-old Appleton girl being sold to men for sex. The 14-year-old, who police said had seen 18 men before the arrest, would tell police that she needed money to repay a suspected pimp who had threatened her.

Prosecutors said the teens were the victims of human trafficking — a form of slavery in which force, fraud or coercion is employed to make another person provide labor, usually a sex act.

Prosecutors charged the three Green Bay adults who accompanied the girls with prostitution, child trafficking, soliciting a child for prostitution and child enticement.

For Sister Goessl, it's a story she hears all too often.

"It seems like this is happening in almost every single county in Wisconsin," she said.

The Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance has documented trafficking cases in more than half of Wisconsin's 72 counties, both urban and rural, amid more than 200 cases overall. Three-fourths involved sex trafficking. About one-sixth of the victims were minors.

But as trafficking has spread, it has become harder to find and more difficult to stop. Experts say pimps and prostitutes use the Internet to arrange meetings with "johns" by posting ads on backpage.com and other websites.

"What we don't see is the old stereotypical image of the street-walker," said Lyn Beyer, executive director of Reach Counseling Services Inc., which provides sexual-assault prevention and counseling services in the Fox Valley. "Nowadays, everything is done (online) or through cellphones, so most of this happens in hotel rooms. So that's part of the reason why the community doesn't get a sense that it's happening here."

Beyer said human traffickers often move up from Chicago, stopping at Wisconsin cities along Interstate 41 before heading west.

Green Bay, with its location along interstates, attractiveness to tourists and its ability to attract thousands of cash-laden weekend visitors for football games and concerts, can present a level of demand that appeals greatly to traffickers, said Brown County Sheriff's Lt. Jim Valley, who frequently investigates sex crimes against minors.

Beyond Brown County

Green Bay police made eight prostitution arrests during a sting operation in spring last year, then busted a total of 22 hookers and customers during a crackdown in the fall. Ashwaubenon public safety officers have made arrests, targeting both prostitutes and the people who pay them.

"We also try to get to the people who traffic them," said Capt. Jody Crocker. "But that's difficult because they may fear violence, or they may view that person as their lifeline."

Worldwide, human trafficking generates $32 billion

But the problem is not limited to Brown County.

• In Oshkosh, authorities made 31 arrests linked to prostitution and human trafficking in 2013. A year later, they reported making 50.

• In Shawano County, three women were charged with prostitution last September after they offered sex for money.

• In Sheboygan, a 29-year-old man agreed in May to plead no contest to one count of human trafficking and another of trafficking of a child. Prosecutors say the man brought teenage girls to Sheboygan and arranged for them to have sex with men at various locations, ordering the girls to give him the money they collected.

• In Wausau, a 40-year-old man was convicted last year of trafficking a 22-year-old woman who was grabbed off a Milwaukee street in 2010. A judge sentenced the man to 17 years in prison after testimony showed that he forced the women to have sex with different men in motels over a nine-day span before her escape.

• Statewide, 10 Wisconsin children were rescued from trafficking and 100 suspects were arrested over one weekend in 2013 during a nationwide FBI investigation.

Police elsewhere tell similar stories — and say they could do more if they had more resources.

"If this office needs to do a drug case, we have multiple officers we can assign and we can get help from (neighboring) departments," said Brown County Sheriff's Lt. Jim Valley, who frequently investigates sex crimes involving underage victims. "For human-trafficking cases, we maybe have one."

Worldwide, human trafficking generates $32 billion a year, according to a United Nations agency called the International Labour Organization.

'Not for sale'

The message from the Green Bay Police Department was simple, following last year's sting that netted eight arrests.

"These operations are important because of the inherent health and public safety concerns caused by this behavior," the department wrote on Nixle, the public-messaging service it uses.

"The illicit sex trade historically has connections to human trafficking, drug dealing, sexual assault and robberies. The victims are not only those involved in all aspects of this lifestyle, but their families and the community."

Organizations large and small are heeding the call to help stamp out human trafficking in Wisconsin.

Last year, the state Legislature passed a law that strengthened penalties against traffickers. Earlier this year, an estimated 650 people attended an anti-trafficking conference, in Milwaukee, called "Not for Sale."

"That person you thought was just a runaway or a delinquent," said U.S. Attorney Julie Pfluger, who prosecutes federal child exploitations in Wisconsin. "That person might be a victim of trafficking."

On a smaller scale, forums and workshops have been held in the past few years at various locations around the state, including an event earlier this year at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Some of the women who attended the UWGB event then met in May, inside Heartland Church near the Howard-Suamico line, to discuss ways that they might assist the survivors of human trafficking.

The group plans further meetings this summer.

Five charged in alleged sex ring in Chilton (Chilton is near the town where Teresa lived and in the county where Kratz was the District Attorney from 1992 to 2010)
Associated Press
August 26, 2002 

CHILTON - Multiple charges of sexual assault, child exploitation and possession of child pornography have been filed against five people who allegedly participated in a sex ring involving a 15-year-old girl.


Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz described the incidents as a sex ring and said the girl was "exploited by (members of) the group for their sexual gratification."

A Hilbert couple, their son and two other teenagers were taken into custody Friday evening and were being held without bond in the Calumet County Jail pending court appearances today.

The defendants and the charges against them are:

* Arthur B. Nelson, 43, Hilbert, second-degree sexual assault, child exploitation and possession of child pornography.

* Heidi K. Nelson, 37, Hilbert, two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child.

* Carl J. Nelson, 17, Hilbert, two counts of repeated acts of sexual assault of a child, child exploitation and possession of child pornography.

* Joshua J. Gilbert, 18, Brillion, second-degree sexual assault of a child.

* Jessica A. Bradley, 17, Chilton, second-degree sexual assault of a child.

The arrests took place after the 15-year-old and her father went to police earlier Friday.

"It is bizarre," Kratz said. "There were dozens of sexual encounters that were described."
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Chilton Police Department investigator Mark Ott said additional arrests are possible.

"With further investigation I don't know how far it will go," he said. "The investigation is still ongoing. We've got more people to talk to."

Kratz said computer files will be analyzed because there was information that some digital images of sex acts were loaded onto a computer.

Based on the initial investigation, Kratz obtained a search warrant Friday for the Nelsons' mobile home.

Authorities said that among the items seized were videotape equipment, three computers and sexually explicit materials.

The criminal complaint said the alleged crimes began after Carl Nelson introduced the 15-year-old to his father and stepmother in June.

Arthur Nelson allegedly encouraged the girl to disrobe and took photographs of her in sexually explicit positions while his son and wife assisted.

The complaint said the girl was encouraged to participate in sex acts with the others, some of which were videotaped.

Redemm and Restore Center, Inc.

Redeem and Restore Center, INC (previously called A.I.S.A.) is a non-profit organization based in Southeastern Wisconsin that is committed to the prevention, intervention, and restoration of women and girls that have been stolen and trapped into the sex trafficking industry in the United States. We are dedicated to establishing a long-term safe home that provides mental, physical, emotional and spiritual healing for these victims. We will provide a safe home, food, clothing, bible devotions, and individual and group counseling. We will offer an individualized program based on each victims unique experiences and needs. We plan to incorporate gardening, horse therapy, art therapy and other rehabilitative services to help them begin a new life of freedom. We will coordinate any needed educational or vocational training, medical care, and legal assistance, as well. After graduation from RRC, they will have a support person helping them transition into regular life. We hope for their complete freedom to be found through Christ, by loving them unconditionally, being present and keeping healthy boundaries. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

Learn more about human trafficking in Wisconsin by browsing the hotline statistics, resources, and local events at the link below:

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/state/wisconsin

Was Kratz part of the Manitowoc County Sex Club? (see Dave Begotka's story):

http://georgezipperer.blogspot.com/2016/02/its-all-related-to-secret-sex-club.html

Ken Kratz Scandal Links at ConvolutedBrian.com

Emails between Ken Kratz and Wisconsin Department of Justice
Self-report to Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Responsibility
Ryan Foley interview of Ken Kratz

Disciplinary complaint by Office of Lawyer Regulation:

Disciplary complaint by Office of Lawyer Regulation

Wisconsin Department of Justice Documents and Findings:

DOJ Investigation part 1
DOJ Investigation part 2
DOJ Investigation part 3
DOJ Investigation part 4
DOJ Investigation part 5
DOJ Investigation part 6
DOJ Investigation part 7

Scott Hassett candidate for Attorny General 2010 critique of AG JB Van Holland's handling of the scandal:

Critique of Wisconsin DOJ handling of Kratz case

Press release by Wisconsin Crime Victims Rights Board:

Press release by Wisconsin Crime Victims Rights Board
Wisconsin DOJ does not file criminal charges against Former Calumet County District Attorney Kenneth Kratz
Press Release from Ken Kratz

2009 Conference on Crimes Against Women:

Tom Fassbender, Norm Gahn, Ken Kratz and Mark Wiegert are featured presenters (pp. 9, 10). It is not clear who paid for transportation and lodging or if these four received a fee.

Brochure, 2009 Conference on Crimes Against Women