Crime and Court Roundup: Former Sheriff's deputy charged with 22 sex-related felony counts

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Bond was set at 50-thousand-dollars yesterday for a former Langlade County sheriff’s deputy charged with 22 sex-related felony counts involving teenage girls. 25-year-old Michael Brayton of Gleason faces four charges of second-degree child sexual assault, two counts of child enticement, and 16 counts of exposure. Prosecutors filed a 32-page criminal complaint that accuses Brayton of having improper relationships with girls at Elcho High School. Authorities said he traded sexually-explicit photos with some of the youngsters, and had physical contact with one girl several times. One girl told investigators she was flattered by the officer’s attention – but she later started to believe it was wrong. Brayton told officers that nothing happened while on duty – and none of the incidents involved alcohol or the use of force. Langlade County Sheriff Bill Greening said Brayton was on his department from 2008 through June 11th. His statement did not say whether Brayton quit, or was fired. Further court proceedings will not be scheduled until a new judge is named in the case. The prosecutors in the case are from neighboring Marathon County.

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Fitchburg Police say a man arrested for a domestic confrontation on Monday was the father of a two-year-old boy who was killed. More details were released yesterday about the fatal incident, which occurred Monday in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Fitchburg, just south of Madison. But prosecutors have yet the charge the 30-year-old man who allegedly caused the attack. The Dane County medical examiner identified the young victim as Yandel Castillo. According to police, the toddler and her mother were returning home in a vehicle driven by another 30-year-old Fitchburg man. She noticed the boy’s father driving behind them – and she asked her driver to pull into a parking lot. Officers said the mother-and-child left the vehicle when they thought the suspect was leaving. But instead, police said the suspect drove toward the two people and struck them. The suspect then got out of his S-U-V, and reportedly attacked the woman and her driver. Both those people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening stab wounds. Police said the suspect and the woman had recently ended a long relationship. Their son Yandel died at the scene.

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court was expected to rule today on a case that could decide whether communities can adopt stricter water quality standards than what the state requires. Larson Acres, a large dairy farm in Rock County, said the town of Magnolia had no right to impose water standards that are more restrictive than a 2004 state law which deals with expansions of farm livestock. The town said the tougher rules were needed to reduce water pollution for which the farm was being blamed. Town officials said manure from the farm’s cows resulted in relatively high nitrate levels. And when they approved an expansion permit, the farm was required to test water quality on its land each month – and to rotate crops a certain way to reduce the buildup of nitrates. The farm challenged the conditions in court. A Rock County circuit judge sided with the town of Magnolia, but an appeals court sided with the farm’s owners. Similar court cases have been filed in a half-dozen other states, but none have reached the Supreme Court level like the Wisconsin case did. In addition, the farm’s neighboring plaintiffs had unsuccessfully asked Justice Michael Gableman to withdraw. The neighbors were worried that they wouldn’t get a fair shake, because the farm was represented by the same lawyer who gave free legal services to Gableman as he defended ethics allegations a couple years ago.

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