V v. Kratz

Filing 19

DECLARATION of S.V.. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit transcript of text messages)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
_____________________________________________________________________________
S.V.
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No. 10-cv-919

KENNETH KRATZ
Defendant.
_____________________________________________________________________________
DECLARATION OF PLAINTIFF S.V.
____________________________________________________________________________
I, S.V., declare:
1. I am the plaintiff in the above-entitled action and have personal knowledge of the
matters stated herein and could competently testify about them if called upon to do so at trial.
2. In approximately July-August 2009 I was beaten and strangled at home by S.K., the
man with whom I had been living. S.K. and I were not married. We had one child. I was then
25 years old.
3. During the time I had lived with S.K., he had repeatedly subjected me to violent
domestic abuse, including beatings and strangulation. I had never reported those past instances
of abuse to the police because I was reluctant to invite law enforcement authorities to intervene
in what I considered to be a private family situation.
4. S.K.’s last attack on me was so violent, however, that I became genuinely frightened
for my life and for the safety of my child if S.K. were to attack again. Despite my reluctance to
involve law enforcement, therefore, I felt that I had no choice but to report S.K.’s attack to the
police, which I did.

5. I complained to the police in this way in the hope that S.K. would be punished for the
attack and would be forced by the authorities to stop his abusive and violent behavior and
prevented from repeating it in the future. I was also very concerned, however, that reporting
S.K. to the police would only anger him further and end up increasing the risk of even more
serious attacks in the future if he was freed before trial or was not successfully prosecuted and
put in jail. I was placing my trust in the law enforcement authorities not to let this happen.
6. As a result of my police complaint, a felony charge of strangulation and suffocation
and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct were brought against S.K. by the Calumet
County District Attorney on August 12, 2009.
7. At that time, defendant Kenneth Kratz was the District Attorney for Calumet County.
I understood him to be the head of that office, in charge of all prosecutions for the County. I was
informed that Mr. Kratz would be personally responsible for the prosecution of S.K.
8.

I met with Mr. Kratz three times in October 2009 regarding the prosecution. In the

first two of these meetings, another woman who was a victim-witness coordinator was present.
In the third meeting, on October 20, 2009, Mr. Kratz and I met alone in a conference room at his
office.
9. In that meeting I described to Mr. Kratz my relationship with S.K. and his previous
abuse. I also explained my current personal circumstances, telling Mr. Kratz that I was not in
another relationship at that point, that I was living with my mother and struggling to make ends
meet and care for my child, and that I had extremely low self-esteem.
10. During the meeting, Mr. Kratz confirmed that he would be in charge of the
prosecution of S.K. I understood from this that I would be relying on him directly for assistance
regarding my participation in that process as the victim of the crime and the complaining witness
in the prosecution. I also understood that, as the prosecutor responsible for the case, Mr. Kratz
2

would have substantial influence and control over whether and how S.K. would be released
before trial and over the actual conduct of the prosecution and the sentencing process, and that as
a result I would be heavily dependent on Mr. Kratz to protect me and my child from retaliation
and further harm by S.K. When Mr. Kratz asked if I would object to lowering the felony charge
against S.K. to a misdemeanor, I responded that I would.
11. I also understood, at the meeting with Mr. Kratz, that he and the other law
enforcement authorities involved would protect my identity and privacy as much as possible if I
cooperated with the prosecution of S.K., and that the contact information I provided—including
my cell phone number—would be kept confidential and would be used only for law enforcement
purposes.
12. Beginning shortly after this meeting on the afternoon of October 20, 2009, however,
and continuing over the next three days, Mr. Kratz sent 30 text messages to me on my cell phone
insistently urging me to enter into a secretive sexual relationship with him. Attached to this
Affidavit as Exhibit A is a transcription of these messages that is accurate to the best of my
recollection, knowledge, and belief, with one exception. The message from Mr. Kratz to me at
10:33 a.m. on October 22, 2009, is incomplete on Exhibit A. The full message said: “Are you
serious? Ok? That’s it? Are you busy? Are you in a board meeting? You are beautiful and
would make a great young partner someday. But I won’t beg!”
13. While some of the messages from Mr. Kratz, when considered alone, were not
explicitly sexual and appeared only to convey compliments and concern about me, there was no
question in my mind that the purpose of the whole series of messages was to express Mr. Kratz’s
sexual attraction to me and to pressure me into agreeing to engage in a covert sexual relationship
with him. Along with describing me as “pretty” and “beautiful,” for example, the messages
referred to me as “hot,” as a “tall, young, hot nymph,” and as a woman who is “blonde, 6ft tall,
3

legs and great bod[y].” Mr. Kratz told me I “would make a great young partner someday” and
asked, “are you the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA . . . the
riskier the better?” He referred to a relationship requiring “passion,” being a “risk taker,” and
living “close to the edge,” and said, “I would not expect you to be the other woman. I would
want you to be so hot and treat me so well that you’d be THE woman! R U that good?” He also
urged me not to disclose his behavior, asking if I “can keep [my] mouth shut” and telling me, “its
maybe not the wisest thing I can do, but you are awfully sweet. Just don’t tell anyone, ok?”
14. Several of the messages also attempted to use personal information that I had
disclosed to Mr. Kratz to increase the pressure he was putting on me to comply. One said,
“Hey.. Miss Communication, what’s the sticking point? Your low self-esteem and you fear you
can’t play in my big sandbox?” Other messages suggested that, given my limited financial
circumstances, I would benefit from the relationship with Mr. Kratz. He asked what kind of job
and house I could expect to have in five years and said, “I’m serious! I’m the atty. I have the
$350,000 house, I have the 6-figure career.”
15. Mr. Kratz also suggested a direct link between the sexual relationship he was urging
on me and the prosecution of S.K. He said, “Quite frankly I don’t know what would happen. It
[the sexual relationship] would go slow enough for [S.K.’s] case to get done. Remember, it
would have to be special enough to risk all.”
16. I found all of these messages and what they were saying about me and urging me to
do completely unwelcome and offensive. I believe these messages were directed toward me
because I was a financially dependent woman with few resources to protect myself from abuse
related to my sex. I was upset, uncomfortable, injured, and humiliated by Mr. Kratz’s behavior.
17. I also felt frightened, threatened, and intimidated by the pressure Mr. Kratz was
putting on me in these messages and the difficult position they put me in. I felt that I had taken a
4

great risk for myself and my child by reporting S.K. to the police and that I was very dependent
on Mr. Kratz for protection from that risk through the course of the prosecution of S.K. As Mr.
Kratz’s messages continued, I became fearful that if I confronted him too directly it would have
an adverse effect on the prosecution or cause him to retaliate against me in some other way.
18. Mr. Kratz continued sending me a steady stream of messages for three days. I
concluded that I would not be able to trust him or participate properly in the prosecution of S.K.
under these circumstances.

Because Mr. Kratz was himself the Calumet County District

Attorney, I did not believe that there was any superior law enforcement official in Calumet
County that I could complain to about his conduct.
19. After anguishing about what to do, I went with my mother to the Kaukauna Police
Department on the afternoon of October 22, 2009, and reported Mr. Kratz’s conduct. I gave the
Kaukauna police the text messages he had sent and my replies. I told them that I wanted him to
stop pressuring me to have a sexual relationship but I was concerned that if I did not comply, Mr.
Kratz would act in some way that continued and potentially increased the danger to my personal
safety. Mr. Kratz sent the last of his string of 30 text messages to my cell phone while I was at
the Kaukauna Police Department.
20. After I had reported Mr. Kratz’s conduct to the Kaukauna police, I insisted that I not
be required to attend any proceeding in Calumet County that was related to the prosecution of
S.K. I did this because of the revulsion I felt, as a result of Mr. Kratz’s conduct, for anything
associated with Calumet County law enforcement.
21. At some point after I had reported Mr. Kratz’s conduct to the Kaukauna police, I
learned that the prosecution of S.K. was taken over by a prosecutor from the Wisconsin
Department of Justice.

5

22. It is my understanding that in April 2010, S.K. pleaded no contest and was convicted
on the felony charge of strangling and suffocating me.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on June 1, 2011.

s/ S.V.

6