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Sugar Cookie

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Evidence in a child sexual assault case was left untested for more than four years in a popular Northwoods vacation town, allowing a suspected molester to elude criminal charges until last month.

The case started in December 2013 when a mother reported to Minocqua police that her 2-year-old son might have been molested. Her son described feeling pain from an unnamed "doctor" who "put his belly up his butt," she said.

A nurse collected forensic samples from the toddler's body for DNA tests.

But according to case records obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, Minocqua police put the evidence in storage and ended their investigation after four days.

The case remained idle until state officials asked Minocqua police last year to submit the samples for DNA testing. The state had received millions in grants to pay for DNA tests and hoped the effort would help catch rapists.

The Minocqua case gained steam in June this year after the state reported finding an adult man's DNA on a swab of the toddler's body. Further analysis of the same swab reported finding the man's sperm.

On Nov. 30, Oneida County prosecutors charged the man, Brandon Darnick, 26, with first-degree sexual assault of a child. Darnick has pleaded not guilty. He could face decades in prison if convicted.

In 2013, Minocqua police shelved the forensic samples that led to Darnick's charges due to a "lack of evidence" in the case, according to a police log. Minocqua police had called the toddler's complaints "difficult to understand" in 2013 and noted that a nurse had found no signs of injury or abuse.

Police also noted in 2013 that Darnick admitted to being alone with the boy in a bedroom — but other adults were in the home during the same period.
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/...vN4vYjSYr8ZquwrzbS8p0iTgM4ddVaRsD-IVwx3vYMPPw
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Lazy investigation by even lazier detectives.

It took the state to kick them in the ass to send in the samples? Where the fuck was the chief on all this? Isn't he supposed to look at case clearance rates and manage accordingly?

It's not like the Minocqua Police Department was overwhelmed with rape kits for 2013 (or even crime in general if these numbers are to be believed).

Somebody at that department needs to get fired.
 
It's understandable from a legal point of view that they could not move forward based on a 2 yr old's remarks. Maybe the child wasn't injured. I squirm to type this, but maybe the man humped the toddler without penetration but left DNA evidence when he came on the little boys butt crack. Sorry, but I want to be clear on why it might be difficult to follow through based on incoherent toddler statements and no physical injury.
But they had a rape kit to utilize and chose to shelve it!!!
If they were understaffed and under funded, surely this would still be a red flag moment.

Proposition: as a concerned parent, could I hire a private investigator to follow the perp, obtain a DNA sample from a discarded cigarette butt, cup, sputum, etc. Pay to extract a DNA sample, then petition or sue the DA to match the rape kit?
 
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as a concerned parent, could I hire a private investigator to follow the perp, obtain a DNA sample from a discarded cigarette butt, cup, sputum, etc. Pay to extract a DNA sample, then petition or sue the DA to match the rape kit?

The problem is that the kit was never tested in the first place. Sure, you've spent a lot of money hiring a P.I., they diligently record the methods used to collect, store and process the DNA sample. Chain of custody is impeccable. Now what? Instead of spending $$$ to do all that, it would be cheaper just to pay to get the kit tested yourself. At the very least the profile is uploaded into CODIS and the chances of catching the perp go up. After it's uploaded, Police with suspicion have no problem getting a warrant for a DNA sample from a suspect.
 
The problem is that the kit was never tested in the first place. Sure, you've spent a lot of money hiring a P.I., they diligently record the methods used to collect, store and process the DNA sample. Chain of custody is impeccable. Now what? Instead of spending $$$ to do all that, it would be cheaper just to pay to get the kit tested yourself. At the very least the profile is uploaded into CODIS and the chances of catching the perp go up. After it's uploaded, Police with suspicion have no problem getting a warrant for a DNA sample from a suspect.
Yes, I can pay to get the kit tested, but I have to find a match, so I need to sneak some DNA from the perp because the police didnt think it worth their while. So I have to get it myself, and the perp might know and avoid me. That's why the PI.
 
Dec 7, 2019
A jury found Brandon Darnick guilty on of first-degree child sexual assault.

This case was one of the first to go to trial after Wisconsin catches up on testing a backlog of rape kits.

Five years ago, Darnick gave a Minocqua Police detective two reasons as to why his DNA was found on the child; but during the trial, his testimony changed.

He claimed he was involved with his current girlfriend at the time and a lack of hygiene caused the kit to test positive.

"If I didn't shower or wash myself off properly, it would still be there and usually the next day and later on I would still have wetness from the semen," said Darnick.

During closing arguments, Assistant Attorney General Amber Hahn argued Darnick's point was invalid.

"The defendant ejaculated, if he ejaculated he was sexually aroused or gratified," said Hahn.

Darnick's attorney Brent Harold Debord said that gratification didn't come from being with the child.

"We have evidence that there was ejaculation for purposes of gratification, but it was when Brandon Darnick was with his girlfriend Mariah Clemmons," said Debord.

The jury deliberated for a few hours before coming to guilty verdict.

No date has been set for the sentencing.
According to the complaint and trial testimony, the child's mother heard signs of distress coming from the child while the child was using the restroom on Dec. 13, 2013. When she questioned the child, seeking an explanation for the distress, the child stated that his/her bottom hurt and "the doctor put his belly up my butt."

The child's mother was confused as the child had not been to see a doctor recently, however the child continued to repeat the same phrase, according to court testimony. It was also noted that the day before the incident in the restroom, the child had spent the night in the same residence as the defendant.

This led the mother to rush the child to the hospital for a forensic medical examination. While additional interviews were conducted by the Minocqua Police Department, no charges were immediately filed and the results of the forensic medical examination, referred to as a rape kit, sat untested until the attorney general's office began a concerted effort to clear untested kits.

On the stand, Darnick said the DNA found on the sample got there when he wiped the child's bottom following a bowel movement.

He testified that he had sexual contact with his girlfriend the day before and did not wash his hands between the time of the sexual encounter and when he helped the child in the bathroom.

He further testified that he slept in the clothes he was wearing the previous evening and had them on the next day.

"My mother left and (the child) made a bowel movement, I wiped (child's) butt," Darnick said.

"You wiped (child's) butt?" Debord asked. "Yes," Darnick replied.

"Were you wearing gloves or anything?" his lawyer asked.

"No," Darnick replied. "It was by accident from me wiping (child's) butt."

He maintained this was the only time he was alone with the child.

"Did you molest (the child)," Debord asked. "No," Darnick replied.

Under cross-examination by Lawrence, Darnick admitted he didn't tell police in 2013 that he had sex with his girlfriend on the evening of Dec. 12, nor did he mention it when he was reinterviewed in 2018.

Lawrence pressed him on the issue of hand washing.

"How many times had you gone to the bathroom between 5 p.m. (Dec. 12) and 8 a.m. the next day?" Lawrence asked. "Maybe once or twice," Darnick replied.


"And you wouldn't wash your hands?" Lawrence asked. "No," he replied.
 
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For years, the sexual assault of a child in Minocqua went unsolved as a sexual assault kit sat in storage.

That kit was finally tested as part of an effort by the state to catch up on a back log of testing.
Now, the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office says 28-year-old Brandon Darnick has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexual assault of a child under 13.

That will be followed by 15 years extended supervision.
The child was 2 years old at the time of the assault. A nurse collected DNA evidence from the boy’s body, but the kit remained untested for four years.

“This case shows, once again, how important the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative is and how important it is that we continue working to strengthen Wisconsin’s response to sexual assault,” said Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, in a news release. “Thank you to the many people whose work led to justice.”
 
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