Also, the homeowners did not know that the girl was drinking..her boyfriend was there and did not have a drop of alcohol! They have already received there ticket so it is done. I have an extremely hard time believing that all of you out there have never given an underage child alcohol. How about you parents out there purposely having parties for them. C'mon people wake up!!

i think that i need to speak. First of all i used to hang out at this house all the time. Look at the public records!! You will find nothing!! This house has never had an underage ticket or any other ticket!! EVER!! Also, i personally know steve..i guarantee this is not true!! You people wait until it comes back that he is innocent!! The girl should be sued!!! I think you milton residents should worry a little more about the serious drug problem..not about a man wrongfully accused!!

To "localboysince1968"...I don't know what planet you come from but you are NOT innocent until proven guilty. You are only innocent if you can AFFORD IT!!! You can buy your innocence long before you can prove it. This guy will only get a slap on the wrist like the other sheriff who only got disorderly conduct for something anybody else would have been charged with felonies (kidnapping, endangerment, battery, and any other charge the arresting officed felt like giving him). If you are in any law enforcement position and violate the law you should be treated like any other criminal AND be fired and banned from law enforcement anywhere period! They go to school for law enforcement...THEY should know BETTER than the general public!!

Love the midwest- Considering cops have more power than almost anyone else but armed forces, and considering they (officers) can lie through their teeth to get you to bend or say things you don't have to, you shouldn't be trusting officers anyway. Bottom line? Officers have a quota too. Protect and serve. Serve the county or city. They get paid for their services, and if they don't get quota, we as taxpayers lose money. Police are GENERALLY good, but with great power comes great responsibility. You can get a ticket for lying to a police officer, but they can lie as much as they want, for investigative purposes. So kids look up to cops, who can lie all they want. Great example. I'm just throwing some stuff out there. Morals. Money. Power. All these things are hard to moderate, although we still pretend like we can control these aspects. Realize this whole comment snowballed and isn't directed at you,as though you did something wrong, it just came out that way. =)

What this cop seems to be doing at this party is preying on younger girls. Pretty much gross.
Although what if she was consenting until other people showed up, and didn't want people to know she consented to him, because the other people think he's icky? That's not what it sounds like happened, but hey, I've heard crazier stories. Just sayin'.

SarahB1: You're welcome! (Although leaving the door open is primarily for the protection of the male). Too bad that this society has come to this, but we all have to deal with reality.

They're more likely to have found evidence under his fingernails. Ick.

yes local I agree with that statement- she was not awake correct? They mentioned having evidence though. Wouldnt that mean they found his hair,dna of some kind or something on her.

How can you be "incapable of giving consent" but able to file a police report in detail to what happened to you? Eitherway, this guy should loose his job for being even near a situation like this....

vesvehound-I can think of alot of words to describe Mark Chmura but "innocent" would certainly not be one of them. Lets just say he was found not guilty of a charge brought against him by a 17 yr. Not unusual for a teen her age she panicked after having sex with the father of the children she babysat for while his wife was presumably next door. Just one more reason grown men should steer clear of underage girls.

ltmw- okay so only FIVE people were underage . That sounds like get out or call police to shut it down. Also the rest are of age but only about 21 ish. WHAT is a 38 year old cop doing at this party ??????? Sounds like he like younge girls to me and since he is a cop he thought he could get away with something.

SuperDave: Most women I know would not want you to close the door when alone with you or another man. In other words, thanks for leaving it open.

Several" people at the party were older than 21, and investigators have identified "a handful" of people younger than 21 who were drinking, Schuetz said.
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Did you read this part Hannah? Pretty sure it doesnt say they were ALL underage. But with that said, he shouldnt have been there even if ONE person was underage. Pretty sad that a police officer stoops to this. Just who CAN we trust nowadays?

Vesvehound: Exactly. Why are grown men putting themselves into situations where they can be accused of these things? I do not support women making up stories about assault for any reason. It makes things more difficult for women who really are assaulted and leads to victims becoming suspects. However, any adult male thinking between his eyes instead of his legs will not put himself in a situation that looks as bad as Chmura's did or this one may.

guilty of being at a party with underage kids- that is pretty clear you SHOULDNT have been there!!!! Maybe you should have busted the party when you found out theyre all underage. Maybe you like them younge and that is why you DIDNT call in the underage party.

Sadly, a large percentage of alleged sexual assaults are built on fictitious claims (kind of like buyer's remorse), which is why most of them never get to trial stage. So are most threats of suicide, and that fact really ruins it for the small percentage of people who really want and need help, instead of those who merely wish to grandstand and play games and waste and enormous public resources in their pathetic, self-centered games. Boo if you like, you know it's true!

Let it play out in court, as most of you would want to happen if it was you who was, rightfully or wrongfully, caught up in a similar situation with your photo, address, and life details broadcast across the greater bi-state area (and by that I refer to southern WI and northern IL, not WI's absurd, discriminatory and unconstitutional same-sex "union" provision!).

Except Chmura actually was innocent. The medical evaluation of the liar that accused him showed no sign of injury or damage that the victim claimed...

but... it was a case of him being where he shouldn't.

Hey coach - his law enforcement days may be over but maybe he can become a lawyer like Mark Chmura!

Reality:There is more to the statute than being under the influence. Simply reading the full passage will answer your questions.

"940.225(2)(cm)
(cm) Has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who is under the influence of an intoxicant to a degree which renders that person incapable of giving consent if the defendant has actual knowledge that the person is incapable of giving consent and the defendant has the purpose to have sexual contact or sexual intercourse with the person while the person is incapable of giving consent."
This is not meant to imply that this is what happened in this particular case, but is meant to answer the question posted by "reality" about drinking on a date.

This one is pretty simple, whether the deputy is convicted or not. From day one, cops are trained that, because of the tremendous responsiblity and authority they are given by the community that they serve, they are held to a higher standard of conduct than that of a 'normal' citizen. Accordingly, you simply cannot do some things that an ordinary citizen might be able to do. Even giving him every benefit of every doubt, you still have to seriously question the judgment of a seasoned officer putting himself in such a precarious situation.

No idea what happened here. But as a male, I would never trust a strange female alone in a room, whether at a party or even in the workplace. If I have a meeting alone with a female that I do not already know well, the door is left partially open. You cannot prove what you did NOT do. And an accusation stands as a conviction in the eyes of many.
This reminds me of an incident when I was a teenager. I was at a party, a girl I knew from school lived there. She had too much to drink, went to bed. I went to use the bathroom, and when I passed by her room she called me in there. I went in for all of two minutes, stood next to her bed and talked to her. That's it. Someone saw me walking out of the room, and for YEARS after that, her parents and some others repeated over and over how I had "tried something". To top it all off, I had ZERO interest in this girl. Now, post-Anita Hill, a guy simply cannot afford to put himself in this situation. This cop, of all people, should have known better!

Theres to many unanswered questions here. There's much more to the story that will all come out eventually. I will say that when cop's don't "police" themselves the public will!! Way to go public!! Our work ethics needs to change...this country is headed south fast!!

I wonder how many defenders of "innocent until proven guilty" would be out there if this man was just some guy working at some mundane job?

Please keep an open mind until the case is tried out in the courts. We still - hopefully - live in a society that says we are innocent until proven guilty. Yes, it does not look good for him, but facts, evidence, etc. will soon be presented.

"second-degree sexual assault is a felony that involves sexual contact with someone not capable of giving consent or who is under the influence of alcohol."
Can anybody tell me what the definition of "under the influence" is? Is it >.08? Is it passed out drunk? If your date has a single drink and you end up having intercourse, are you commiting 2nd degree sexual assault? What if both parties are "under the influence"? Is it only the man that would be charged with 2nd degree sexual assault?

Yeah, "acursivememorial", I'm sure good old Steve is a great guy to throw back a few beers with. That said,after doing such, would you leave him alone with your daughter? Regardless of what the apologists say, something is rotten in Denmark here. I question the ability of anyone to serve in law enforcement if they put themselves in a position like this. If he hadn't been drinking with teenagers, this wouldn't have happened.
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Fire him now.

REAL - thank you! I was a guest at the party as well and couldn't have said it better. This is the kind of crap that gets circulating and creates nasty rumors that aren't true about people. All I can reiterate is leave the problem solving to the authorities and the families involved and keep YOUR noses out of it unless you have a proven fact to input in the discussion.

Does anyone else find it rather ironic that this article about a woman being sexually assaulted while intoxicated is accompanied by an ad for "Girls night out at the Countryside Inn in Milton - $10 bottomless drinks"? I realize ads are probably generated randomly, but perhaps a this one should be dropped under the circumstances?

OkieFed- the 5th amendment allows due process which in turn promotes the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. That is the only thing we are defending. Lynch mobs were disbanded many decades ago...

Everyone was drinking. Underage people were there too. The officer should not have been there if underage persons were drinking. He should have known better. He's guilty of that for sure. But as far as the assault, we need to let the system run its course and not pass judgement until it is all over.

Let's hope the courts do there job and get to the bottom of this, another black eye for Law Enforcement and Milton.

Man there is a lot of distrust of the law here. "The man" is out to get everybody right. People are paranoid. Enough with all the people defending this loser... family and friends most likely.
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In my opinion, he's most likely guilty as sin and in any case should have known better. Good grief, a deputy hanging out at a party with underage kids drinking. Terminate him immediately without benefits and let a jury of his peers figure out whether he is guilty or not. No plea bargains please.

evansvillewife - it is obvious you must have everything explained to you. In general means it wasn't specific to the young lady in the article. Specific meaning to the brand of women who falsely accuse men of serious crimes they didn't commit. Have you ever had jumbo shrimp?

Let the case play out in court. I don't know the deputy, the victim, or anyone at the party. But I am old enough to suggest that this guy start working on a new career. Even if he is innocent, his best law enforcement days are in all probability already behind him.

AND FURTHERMORE...i was a guest at the party in question, and EVERYONE there was over the legal drinking age, except for two guests who the homeowners were unaware would be attending...we didn't need anyone 38 years old to buy us liquor/beer, but thank you anyways for your concern...let this be a lesson to any readers for any news story out there, you can't always believe what you read and people are INNOCENT until proven guilty

evansvillewife - you clearly have not done your research seeing that if you would have read any reports, you would have realized that 2nd degree sexual assault may mean many things, but in this case, the allegations are due to an 18 year old female claiming that this deputy had NOT had any intercourse, but that she was physically touched in a sexual manner, not in ANY WAY related to rape.

cursive memorial... SECOND DEGREE SEXUAL ASSAULT, which the crime he is CHARGED WITH... is forcible sexual intercourse without consent of an individual, otherwise known as rape. First degree sexual assault is forcible sexual intercourse with a weapon or sexual contact with a person under thirteen years of age.

localboy... Your quote " My comment of nutbag women was in general and specific to past women who have done this."

How can your comment be meant in general and yet specific? Those are polar opposites. I don't think you understand what the meaning of "out of context" is... you clearly meant to discredit this victim, and bring to light the issue of false accusation. There is nothing out of context about that.
You claim there are "plenty of nutbag women" I happen to disagree. I think there are many more nutbag men out there who feel rape is their right, and when you consider one out of three women are sexually assaulted in their life, and one out of eight men... and 97% of sexual assault perps are men, I ask you... on what side do the nutbags truly dwell?
When the Catholic church's coverup of pedophilia was brought to light, did people start blaming "nutbag little boys" for hurting the holy priests?
Does the fact that he was arrested, physical evidence found, and the DA pressing charges do nothing but goad you to bring to light that men are helpless victims of of nutbag women? Apparently so.

I removed myself after I remember charges were pending against the homeowner/residents. Shame on me.

thank you localboy... i'm glad there are some people with morals left in this world.

evansvillehousewife - you need to take it down a notch. You don't have all of the facts here. This guy is not guilty until proven in a court of law, not the Gazette blog. If in fact he is found guilty, he should be punished as it would have been unexcusable what he did. Nobody condones rape, but there are plenty of women who falsely accuse men which will ruin it for others who it really happened to. My comment of nutbag women was in general and specific to past women who have done this. Don't use my comments out of context, as you don't have that right.

evansville - dont make assumptions if you have no clue what is going on...

and to the rest of you, the same. you all should be ashamed of yourselves for suggesting things and spreading rumors that aren't even the least bit true. lets get back to our own lives and LET THE AUTHORITIES DEAL WITH THIS how bout?

and I'd like to point out that NO WHERE in any article does it say anything about rape. you people are RIDICULOUS!!!

SMK1965- You make a sound point. I agree.

kid get a life other than *high* life this has nothing to do with pot. The officer was in the wrong to be at a party with younger people where they were drinking under age and he was present, he should have used the card they took away and made some arrests for the underage consumption in his presence.

I have to disagree with Rocky. Although it is not a crime to be at a party like this, it is against the law to allow it to go on with underage kids in the house. With him being a police officer, he should have picked up the phone and dialed a Milton Police Officer before he picked up an alcholic beverage and dumped it down his throat and got accused of this. Anyone who was at that party who is of legal age is liable when their are underage kids in attendance.

Swisschick ... Which house ?

Also- the reason a 38 yo was present is probably the only reason WHY they tolerated him- he probably bought the booze. This same scenario played out here with that Evansville cop who was caught with that 19 year old girl he was giving booze to. That situation was consensual though. Not many teenies like to party with someone Dear old Dad's age.

Uh, localboy, she was INTOXICATED at the time of the assault. State law clearly states an intoxicated individual is unable to give consent. An officer would kknow that. Also, on Channel 15 last night they stated that there was physical evidence of the assault that included injuries. That doesn't sound like a made up story.
Also, it's no longer the 1950's. Anyone who has accused someone of rape undergoes their own hell, from police questioning to character defamation- and that's after the humiliating emergency room rape kit.
Rape is the number on unreported crime, and that's because of neanderthal perspectives like localboy's. Men don't rape! Women make them do it, or they make it up!

Localboy, it's MEN's responsiblity NOT TO RAPE. Not women's responsiblity to have this done to them and deal with it.
How would you feel if this 18 yo was your daughter?

Apparently he's guilty until proven innocent here. I am not making excuses for what he did or didn't do. It will be difficult to find jurors when this goes to trial....

I think it is clear that this man is only charged with a crime and deserves the benefit of the doubt while the evidence is collected. Only a court and jury will have the right to convict. However, it is also abundantly clear that this guy is guilty of at least some very bad judgement. He was present at a drinking party that included under age persons - as a deputy he should have left immediately. Being present at such a party is not a crime in and of itself, but I would think that it may warrant disciplinary action even without the assault allegation.

I agree....what was a 38 year old POLICE OFFICER doing at an underage drinking party in the first place? He should know better and as far as i'm concerned the PARENTS should know better than to allow underage kids to drink in their home. They should be charged. And localboy....I believe you are the one that is passing judegment. You are innocent until proven guilty which should be the same for the girl.

im a female,so i will have to comment on that nutbag remark,lol it was funny,so thats my comment on it,localboy might be right,an not just passing judgement on all us female nutbags,(lol.Just for the record,my uncles life was ruined because of one of these nutbags,(all over now but it was a nightmare and nothing happened)im not saying a word about this situation until all the facts are proven,and niether should anyone else.an if you think im a nutbag for laughing at localboys comment,i probably am.lol everyone have a good day.

ughh. this sad stuff happens all to often when people get togethor to smoke pot...oh wait...it was the 'eviler of two evils' again...nvrmnd.

What is a 38 year old man doing at a party with kids under 21? Sounds like he was looking for trouble...

It happens in Milton because there isn't a 20 foot tall fence around the city to keep people out. Maybe they should hire more cops then, you know, for check points coming in and out...

Come on , this is getting so old . Why does this have to keep happening in Milton ? Clean it up please !

Channel 3 also had it.

PJGnyc--His pic is on the front page of today's paper

I agree with localboy. Maybe she got caught in a compromising situation and this is her way out. However, he should know better.

Yeah, like stay away from minor drinking parties. Should be a no-brainer.

Before anybody passes judgement (on the assault), it wouldn't be the first time a nutbag women accused a man of doing something he didn't do, just for attention or revenge after being rejected. You are innocent until PROVEN guilty. Same goes in this case, except this officer is supposed to be smart enough not to get himself in positions that would even warrant an accusation...

Where's the photo of the deputy? Remember when all those people were arrested for improper behavior at the 'juice bar' across from GM they posted all of their photos?

This guy is in deep trouble he should have know better being a sheriff deputy He can kiss his job good by and his retirement if he is convicted.

Although both against the law, Sexual Harrassment and Sexual Assault are two very differnet things.

thats how it works, in rock county roadmaster!

So what ever happen to the follow-up story on John Becker. A rank and file employee gets in trouble and it's an immediate news story, a county big-wig gets a free ride.