Delavan man faces life in prison over child sex assault charge
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ELKHORN—A Delavan man is facing life in prison and no chance for parole after being charged with repeated sexual assault of a child as a persistent repeater.
Brian O'Toole, 44, of Delavan, is accused of sexually assaulting a girl he knew two to three times a week since September at a Delavan home, according to the criminal complaint.
Wisconsin law allows prosecutors to add the persistent repeater modification if a defendant was found guilty of at least one previous child sex offense.
O'Toole was convicted July 3, 2006, of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in Bureau County, Illinois. He sexually abused a teen girl he knew, according to court documents.
Someone found guilty of repeated sexual assault of a child faces up to 60 years in prison. The persistent repeater modifier adds a mandatory life sentence with no parole if convicted.
The district attorney's office does not often attach the persistent repeater allegation to child sexual assault cases, Necci said.
“It's awfully rare to have someone commit a child sex assault, be convicted, be sentenced and recommit another one and be convicted with it,” Necci said. “It's just rare.”
O'Toole's attorney, Travis Schwantes, is arguing for dismissal of the persistent repeater allegation, saying the prosecution can not prove O'Toole's conviction in Illinois is comparable to a Wisconsin child sexual assault conviction, according to court documents.
The girl O'Toole assaulted in Delavan told her mother Feb. 9 and a school counselor Feb. 10 about the repeat assaults. In a Feb. 11 forensic interview at the county's Child Advocacy Center, the girl said O'Toole asked her to get in bed with him and he touched and kissed her.
O'Toole was arrested at his home, 508 S. Main St., the afternoon of Feb. 11 and taken to the Walworth County Jail, where he is being held on a $20,000 cash bond. He will appear in court next at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, at the Walworth County Judicial Center.