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A Bangor man was found guilty last week of child enticement and sexual assault after reportedly luring a 10-year-old into his apartment last September.
After a two-day trial June 16-17, Michael W. Hudson, 41, was found guilty in La Crosse County Circuit Court of child enticement and first-degree sexual assault of a child without great bodily harm.
“I’m very pleased with the verdict,” said Assistant District Attorney Tania Bonnett. “I’m very pleased that the jury convicted him of both counts. I strongly believed we had a strong case on both counts.”
According to court reports, the charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on Sept. 23, 2007, when Hudson — a registered sex offender — lured the girl to his apartment and sexually assaulted her. Hudson reportedly called the girl to his apartment about 2:30 p.m. to talk about baby-sitting his two children.
The girl told Bangor police that he then took her back into a bedroom, locked the door and touched her private area. The girl said she tried to get away, but Hudson held her down and told her to be quiet.
At about 3:10 p.m., Hudson let the girl go. She and a friend first went to the Bangor Police Department, but no officers were present, so she went home and her mother called police.
When questioned, Hudson admitted he talked to the girl for about “one minute” but denied asking the girl to baby-sit and said he did not ask the girl to come to his apartment, the complaint said.
Hudson is a registered sex offender with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. He was found guilty of third-degree sexual assault in Marquette County in October 1990.
Bonnett said she hopes this case brings awareness to parents and communities. Hudson is the third sex offender living in Bangor to have been arrested in the last year. In July 2007, Gerald W. Pischke, 59, was charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly watching children in Village Park, although that charge was later dismissed; and last week, Larry Benoit, 53, was charged with two counts of a sex offender photographing a minor without a parent’s consent.
“I think it’s a strong message from the jury that they convicted him on both charges,” she said. “We certainly want people to be aware that child sexual assault is in our communities and happens more frequently than we are aware of.
“I think parents should take every precaution they can to keep their kids safe.”
Bonnett said the victim in the Hudson case is doing well.
“She seems to be doing well,” Bonnett said. “She was brave enough to testify in court.”
Hudson has a sentencing hearing set for July 25. He could face up to 60 years imprisonment for the sexual assault conviction and up to 25 years imprisonment and a $100,000 fine for the child enticement conviction. Bonnett said she has yet to decide what sentence she will recommend.
Dan Springer of the La Crosse Tribune contributed to this article.
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