Ken Kratz Resigns

Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz said he wouldn't resign.

He intended to deal with the revelations that he behaved inappropriately with an abuse victim by taking medical leave and rearranging his schedule.

But then other women came forward with allegations. The "lapse in judgment" excuse became more and more difficult to swallow.

Kratz's attorney, Robert Craanen, announced that Kratz intended to resign.

Now it's official. Kratz has resigned.

Read Kratz's press release announcing his resignation.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Calumet County District Attorney Kenneth R. Kratz has resigned, more than two weeks after he came under fire for sending sexually suggestive text messages to a crime victim.

Kratz initially refused to resign and said he would run for re-election in 2012, but he changed his mind and announced through his lawyer last week that he would step down after enduring intense pressure from colleagues, elected officials and victims' advocates.

Had he not resigned, Kratz would likely have been removed from office through a rarely-used legal process initiated by Gov. Jim Doyle about a week after news of Kratz's text messages was first reported in the media.

I think Kratz's decision to resign was the right thing to do.

Jim Doyle made Kratz's resignation a personal crusade.

Has Doyle commented on the possibly illegal behavior of his political appointee, Wood County District Attorney John Henkelmann? Has he held a press conference on the matter?

If he has made a statement on Henkelmann, I missed it.

Governor's office to look into DA John Henkelmann's conduct

State and local officials say they need to learn more before deciding whether to take action against the Wood County district attorney for nearly year-old allegations that came to light this week.

"The governor, like everyone else, just learned of this incident and will look into it," said Carla Vigue, spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Doyle, who appointed John Henkelmann to the position. "If there warrants any further action in the case, we'll definitely pursue it."

Within two days of the Associated Press breaking the story about Ken Kratz, Doyle said he would be in contact with Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen "to discuss all options."

Five days after those revelations, Doyle was ready to begin the process to remove Kratz from office.

The Henkelmann case was reported by the Associated Press on October 1, 2010.

A Wisconsin prosecutor was caught on video looking at porn in a resort’s business room and engaging in what an employee called “lewd” and illegal behavior, but sheriff’s deputies who interceded downplayed the incident and resort management ordered it kept quiet, records show.

Wood County District Attorney John P. Henkelmann was not charged with any wrongdoing stemming from the Nov. 6, 2009, incident at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake. In his office at the courthouse in Wisconsin Rapids on Thursday, he declined comment on the specifics of what happened, only saying he had been drinking, that he didn’t do anything illegal and was “shaken” when deputies showed up. He said he doesn’t remember if he told deputies he was a district attorney.

According to a report obtained by The Associated Press through the state’s open records laws, Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called to the resort after an employee reported that a hotel guest had been repeatedly observed viewing porn in the business room. Deputies found Henkelmann looking at porn, but let him go without obtaining the video footage and left their report vague.

More details, from the Sheboygan Press:

Security footage captured at the Osthoff Resort in Elkhart Lake last year shows the Wood County district attorney masturbating while viewing pornography in a public area, an employee fired for reporting the conduct said in an interview Friday.

The Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department was called to the Osthoff about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 6, but deputies never obtained the footage, and the prosecutor — John Henkelmann — was never arrested or charged, records show. But based on the former employee’s firsthand account, Sheriff Mike Helmke said Friday he would reopen the investigation of Henkelmann’s actions.

“We’ll certainly take a look at it,” Helmke said. “I’ll have our people talk to her and see if she tells us the same thing.”

The incident had stayed hidden for nearly a year after Osthoff management ordered it kept quiet and issued veiled threats while firing Amanda Cain, a reservations assistant who mentioned the matter to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Henkelmann, 53, was one of about 200 prosecutors attending a three-day conference hosted by the DOJ.

The former employee, Amanda Cain, spoke publicly for the first time Friday. Cain said she saw the security footage herself and was told Henkelmann had been warned twice about watching pornography in the publicly accessible business lounge.

“From what I was told … security went down earlier in the evening, opened the door to our general business center and asked him to return to his room, which he did,” Cain said. “And a few hours later he came back, and that’s when they decided this is something police should be called for.”

Henkelmann was on the lone computer in the resort’s business room, which was monitored by a video camera that fed a monitor at the front desk. Cain saw the video later Nov. 6 as managers reviewed the footage in an open area of the Osthoff office.

She said it was clear from watching the video that Henkelmann was masturbating.

Will Doyle move as quickly and aggressively against Henkelmann as he did against Kratz?

Is Henkelmann fit to serve as district attorney?

"The governor, like everyone else, just learned of this incident and will look into it," said Carla Vigue, spokeswoman for Gov. Jim Doyle, who appointed John Henkelmann to the position. "If there warrants any further action in the case, we'll definitely pursue it."

In other words, Doyle will ignore the public masturbation by his political appointee, Henkelmann.