Racine---A case that first drew our attention two years ago to the difficulties of dealing with sex offenders got much worse over the weekend.
30 year-old Thomas Nelson of Caledonia was formally accused Monday of sexually assaulting and strangling a 17 year-old girl whom he first met at the auto repair shop where he worked. The assault allegedly occurred at Nelson's home on Killips Lane Saturday after the two had been drinking. The victim was repeatedly choked and bitten.
At the time of the assault, Nelson was out of jail on a signature bond, awaiting trial in two separate cases that involved the alleged molestation of three boys, including Nelson's own son.
Before all of these alleged offenses, Nelson had been convicted as a teenager in 2005 of having sexual contact with another boy. Nelson was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in that case, but served additional stints after having his parole revoked twice. A state corrections department staffer wrote in a report that Nelson didn't seem to take sex offender treatment seriously.
Upon his release, Nelson was allowed visits with his son, to be supervised by Nelson's mother. But the woman apparently failed to follow through and that's when the alleged sexual contact occurred with the son.
The two other boys were the sons of a friend of Nelson's. Nelson had been staying at their house.
When the boys' stories came out two years ago this month, a court commissioner initially set bond at $1 million.
Over the next year-and-a-half, Nelson's trial date was repeatedly pushed back by a series of delays. In October, Judge Faye Flancher, on a motion by the prosecution, released Nelson to house arrest while awaiting trial. In December, provisions of the bond were modified further to allow Nelson to go to work.
Now he's back in jail on a bond of $100,000 with fresh charges, and a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 2nd. The trial on the earlier, unresolved charges remains on the docket for a date in April.
-0-