Sheboygan alderman charged with repeat child sex assault

Sheboygan Ald. Kevin MatiChek was charged Monday with one count of repeated sexual assault of a child for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old boy between June and September last year.

MatiChek, 33, 1114 N. Ninth St., appeared via closed-circuit TV from the Sheboygan County Detention Center at his initial appearance Monday afternoon. He could receive a sentence of 25 years in prison with 15 years extended supervision and a $100,000 fine if convicted.

RELATED MatiChek's criminal complaint. Warning: Explicit content

According to the criminal complaint:

MatiChek met the boy in the summer of 2014, and over time he treated the boy to walks, gifts, movies and other activities.

They began having sexual contact at Kohler-Andrae State Park in MatiChek's car shortly after they met, and subsequently had intimate relations behind the Lottie Cooper shipwreck at Deland Park and then several times at MatiChek's home.

At MatiChek's initial appearance Monday, District Attorney Joe DeCecco said MatiChek groomed the boy to get him to agree to sexual activity.

"This ... young man was having trouble at home and school, and there appears to have been some grooming done here to get the young man to voluntarily … agree to alleged sexual acts with the defendant," DeCecco said. "A person's sexual proclivities are his own business but not when it involves juveniles."

At DeCecco's urging, Court Commissioner Rebecca Persick imposed a $75,000 cash bail and set conditions that included no contact with the victim or anyone under 18 and to stay at least one block away from any public or private school.

"We found one sexual assault, there is more information, search warrants were executed and we are not done with this investigation at this time," DeCecco said.

MatiChek's attorney, Casey Hoff, said in court that MatiChek's strong local ties and poor financial situation made a high bail amount unnecessary.

"He has almost no money," Hoff said.

He also pointed out that MatiChek voluntarily reported to the Sheboygan Police Department to answer questions.

Persick said her reading of the criminal complaint revealed "quite a bit of deception and predatory behavior on (MatiChek's) part as well."

After the initial appearance, DeCecco said there are conflicting reports about where MatiChek met the boy -- either on Facebook or at a coffee shop -- and that MatiChek denied having any sexual relations with him.

"He consistently denied any sexual contact, but he admitted they were dating," DeCecco said. "There's very mixed statements coming from him."

The victim at first also denied any sexual contact, but then after talking to his parents, broke down. The criminal complaint says he was very emotional and weeping when he talked about their relationship, frequently telling investigators "I am not a whore."

The boy told police that he didn't consider himself a victim because MatiChek "didn't jump out at me from an alley," and that he talked to MatiChek about things in his life he couldn't discuss with anyone else.

The case began last week with an anonymous caller to Crimestoppers, according to Sheboygan Police Capt. Kurt Brasser.

That caller led investigators to a 17-year-old, who told authorities that he or she had sexual contact with MatiChek within the five months. The teenager also gave police information that led them to the boy MatiChek has been charged with assaulting.

Brasser said the boy isn't related to MatiChek but they knew each other. After MatiChek's arrest on Friday, police got a search warrant for his home and seized his computer equipment for a forensic investigation.

The Sheboygan Police Department had some information about MatiChek about eight months ago, Brasser said, but couldn't substantiate it.

Mayor Mike Vandersteen and Common Council President Ald. Don Hammond also attended the press conference.

"The city, myself and the City Council are just very disappointed to hear this news," Vandersteen said. "This is a crime that if it was committed and is proven is very, very serious. Our heart goes out to these victims."

Hammond said the city does not do background checks on candidates.

"I'm not sure that even with a background check, that that would have caught something like this," Hammond said. "There was nothing in his history that we knew of that would have led us to believe that this could be a possibility. From our standpoint as elected officials, the voters are the ones that put him into office."

Hammond also said, however, that the process might change in light of MatiChek's arrest.

"Given what's going on, I think we need to take a look at a lot of different things with respect to that," Hammond said. "Really no background check is done by the city at that point at this time."

The Sheboygan Press routinely checks candidates' backgrounds. When MatiChek ran for the state Assembly in 2010, a backgrond check showed nothing in the online court records to indicate he had been involved in any inappropriate sexual behavior. He was elected the next year to the Common Council.

In 2012, a Sheboygan Press check of candidates revealed three candidates for the other District 4 spot all had had legal trouble, including drug offenses and a restraining order.

After coverage by the Press, two of the three bowed out of the race and attorney Mary Lynn Donohue ran a successful write-in campaign and was elected.

Donohue is currently chairman of the Committee of the Whole and would chair an Ethics Board that may become involved in any action to remove MatiChek from the council.

Donohue said Monday she hasn't heard any complaints about Matichek's behavior before this allegation and that it's too early to make a determination on what should happen to his aldermanic seat.

"I think sometimes you can jump to a conclusion that once you get more information has to be changed, so I'm really in the wait-and-see mode at this point," she said.

Donohue said that she isn't sure there's anything "proactive" the city needs to do regarding Matichek, being that a police investigation is still ongoing and that the matter could be sorted out through the electoral process.

Matichek is up for reelection in April and would remain on the ballot regardless of what he decides to do with his seat. His only opponent in the race, Job Hou Seye, issued a statement over the weekend on Facebook.

While he said it's too quick to pass judgment on Matichek, he also expressed his sympathy for any potential victims. Hou-Seye noted that he was ready to challenge Matichek on his record and attendance at council, but that the dynamics of that contest have now changed.

"Once again, my heart goes out to any children and families that have been affected by this terrible situation," Hou-Seye wrote. "I had hoped to campaign on relevant issues, and not have something like this blight the City of Sheboygan."

Brasser asked that anyone with information about other victims contact the Sheboygan Police Department at 459-3333.

Safe Harbor offers a crisis line, support and shelter to anyone involved in sexual assault or domestic violence. The 24-hour help line is 800-499-7640 or 920-452-7640 and the office is located at 929 Niagara Ave.

Sheboygan Press Media reporter Jason Smathers contributed to this report. Reach Janet Weyandt at 920-453-5121.