(WGTD)---Right up until the very end, retired Kenosha County Sheriff’s Dept. Captain Clarence “Skip” Mielke denied having any inappropriate contact with a female patient at a Pleasant Prairie residential care facility that his wife once ran.
Mielke, who’s 74 and has health problems, received a five year-long prison sentence Tuesday from Judge Chad Kerkman. A jury had previously found Mielke guilty of a pair of counts: 2nd degree sexual assault of a mentally ill victim and 2nd degree sexual assault by an employee of a care facility.
In arguing for a lighter sentence, defense attorney Frank Parise echoed his client’s comments that he’s innocent. "It sort of defies logic in a sexual assault case that a peron who basically had led an exemplary life for 74 years would suddenly start sexually assaulting someone," he said.
However, Judge Kerkman, addressing the defendant, noted that the evidence against him included Mielke's DNA on the woman's bra, testimony from a pair of nurses who said they saw questionable acts and statements from the victim, who claimed that the sexual contact occurred on a near daily basis for weeks. "I have no problem with the jury's findings," Kerkman said. "I think it's unfortunate that you are not only not remorseful but you maintain your innocense."
Mielke served nearly 30 years on the sheriff’s department, retiring in 2000. Because of health problems, Parise said he believed that Mielke would not survive a prison sentence.
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