Saturday State News Briefs: Second former speedskater comes forward accusing Gabel of assault

Talk about it

MILWAUKEE - A second former speedskater has stepped forward to accused Olympic medalist Andy Gabel with sexually assaulting her.

She says she decided to go public when speedskater Birdie Ferrell said she had an inappropriate relationship with Gabel during the 1990s. Both women were in their teens when the alleged incidents occurred. Nikki Meyer was known by her maiden name of Ziegelmeyer at the time. She says Gabel raped her. Gabel has admitted he made mistakes and has resigned his position as president of U.S. Speedskating, but he has denied allegations of using force.

_______________________________________________________________________

A teenage girl tells the Dane County jury her father kept her locked in the basement of their house and made her sleep on a dirty mattress. She talked of years of physical and verbal abuse, saying she was always hungry. Prosecutors had told the court the 16-year old girl weighed just 68 pounds when she ran away a little over a year ago. The defense argues the girl always had adequate clothing and food available, but she chose not to dress or eat properly. The girl has also said her stepbrother tried to sexually assault her.

________________________________________________________________________

Pilots could be on their own when they land at some Wisconsin airports, getting no help from air traffic controllers. Federal budget cuts could force some control towers in the state to go dark. The FAA has to cut 600 million dollars from its budget under the automatic cuts which took effect March 1st. The agency says it will decide by March 18th which airports will lose tower services. General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee is one of 72 airports nationwide which could have its control tower shut down during late-night hours. Milwaukee doesn’t have any regularly scheduled commercial passengers flights between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. now. The airport would remain open 24 hours a day, but there would be no air traffic controllers on duty.

________________________________________________________________________

Selling more than a million dollars worth of cocaine winds up sending a Madison man to prison for eight years. Rodolfo Juarez-Gonzalez had pleaded guilty to drug charges last January. Federal prosecutors say evidence shows he sold much more cocaine than the guilty plea indicates. Drug agents report they seized 440 thousand dollars in cash when Juarez-Gonzalez was arrested last July.

_______________________________________________________________________

A guilty plea by 41-year old defendant Glendon Gouker solves a sexual assault cold case from Waupaca County which was more than two decades old. Gouker admitted assaulting a woman at a park in Iola in November 1990. Gouker was extradited from Oklahoma to Wisconsin last month after the crime lab got a DNA hit off evidence which had been resubmitted. He still faces charges in Oklahoma in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a young woman and the murder of her 19 year old boyfriend. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case. Gouker is also considered a person of interest in a double homicide in Waupaca County from 1992.

Tags: news, wisconsin