Wisconsin District Attorney Kenneth Kratz, who sent sexually suggestive text messages to a domestic abuse victim whose ex-boyfriend he was prosecuting, has been accused of inappropriate behavior with another woman, according to a letter made public today by Gov. Jim Doyle’s office.
According to The Wisconsin State-Journal, the letter was written by a woman who once allegedly went on a date with Kratz, and said that he “even went so far as to inviting me to go with him to the autopsy (provided I would be his girlfriend and would wear high heels and a skirt).”
The woman, who said she met Kratz on Match.com, said at first she was “hesitant” to go on a date with him because “he had written some things that were inappropriate to say to someone at that stage of communicating.”
She added that Kratz also sent her a number of text messages following their date:
If I didn’t answer his texts immediately, he would become insecure and question why I hadn’t responded and would attack me or my character,” she wrote. “He would remind me of who he was, how he had prosecuted the biggest case around here and what a ‘prize’ he was.
As we reported, Kratz admitted to sending domestic abuse victim Stephanie Van Groll text messages in an attempt to strike up an affair with her, while he was handling her case. One of the text messages said: “Im serious! Im the atty. I have the $350,000 house. I have the 6-figure career. You may be the tall, young, hot nymph, but I am the prize! Start convincing.”
According to a case report by the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation obtained by TPM, Kratz also initially considered a lesser charge in Van Groll’s domestic abuse case. In October 2009, the report says, Van Groll met with Kratz to discuss her case, and “she thought it was funny that Kratz asked her if she would mind if he dropped the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. Van Groll then stated that she told Kratz that strangling someone was a felony in the State of Wisconsin.”
The Associated Press reports that Van Groll’s attorney said Van Groll “was frightened that, to the extent she didn’t at least be civil to this district attorney, that charge might be lessened and her greatest fear was that it would be dropped altogether. Whether intended or not, it amplifies the harmful nature of the statements he made to her.”
Gov. Doyle gave a press conference today, in which he said he would take steps to remove Kratz from office. Doyle said he found reports of Kratz’s actions “deeply, deeply troubling.”
Kratz has said he will not step down, though earlier today he announced that he will take indefinite medical leave from his position.
