'Sexting' D.A.: 3rd Woman Comes Forward
Sexts for legal favors? That appears to be the case in Wisconsin. The sexting D.A. that made headlines last week is staying in the spotlight after two more women have come forward to discuss the unwanted text message advances of Kenneth Kratz. When the initial allegations came forward, Kratz was not planning on resigning from his position, however that may all be changing now.
The two other victims of the advances came forward after reading about the initial incident. A 31 year-old Oklahoma law student claims that Kratz began texting her after he offered to help her remove a drug conviction from her record. The law student, Maria Ruskiewicz, told CBS News that texts such as, "what are you going to do to please me in between the sheets" continued for months. The other victim of the sexting D.A., also represented by Kratz in her domestic violence violence case, sheds some light on questionable professional behavior that Kratz was engaging in. The woman claims that Kratz told her private details of a murder case he was working on, in addition to the sexting.
CBS News quotes Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle on the matter: "My reaction was the same as everyone who has worked on these issues over the years that this is just a terrible violation of trust." Doyle plans to initiate the removal process for the 50 year-old Kratz. Kratz was elected into his position with the Wisconsin District Attorney's office in the 1980s, and is not up for re-election until 2012.
Kratz is currently taking medical leave from work, and agreed to attend weekly therapy sessions following the first incident. In addition to being a violation of trust, the sexting antics of Kratz also have potential legal implications. Harassment, violation of attorney client privilege, compromising criminal cases, and blackmail are all possible charges against the Sexting D.A..
Related Resources:
- Women Accuse Wisconsin Prosecutor of Inappropriate Behavior (The Crime Report)
- Sexting (FindLaw)
- Attorney Misconduct (FindLaw's LawBrain)