Released sex-offender to be living near Arkansaw

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ARKANSAW - A western Wisconsin man who admitted to nine actual-or-attempted sexual assaults in the 1980’s is about to be released from a state treatment center. But authorities say Kerry Abbott will remain under heavy supervision once he moves to a rural home near Arkansaw this month.

And a public meeting will be held on July 11th at the Arkansaw Elementary School, where local residents can get their concerns addressed. Officials said Abbott molested one of his victims at gunpoint, and he was armed with a knife-or-scissors in seven other incidents. He was found innocent by insanity in one of his cases, and he was deemed a sexually violent offender in 2001.

Abbott has been at the Sand Ridge Treatment Center at Mauston. Officials say he’s bi-polar. Abbott will be under electronic monitoring as part of his new placement – and he must have an approved escort when going to places like work for the first year. His father Dean tells the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that Abbott has made good progress each month for about the last year. Trempealeau County Circuit Judge John Damon declared in January that Abbott met the required criteria for a supervised release.

Tags: western wisconsin, crime and courts, news