MatiChek sentenced to 10 years in prison

A former Sheboygan alderman's attempts to reform himself in jail weren't enough to outweigh the manipulation and tragedy he brought upon his victim, as a Sheboygan County Circuit Court judge sentenced him to a decade behind bars.

Judge L. Edward Stengel sentenced Kevin MatiChek to 10 years in a state prison and 10 years extended supervision for sexual assault of a child as well as seeking a bribe as a public official.

Prosecutors had recommended five years in a prison and three years extended supervision, while defense was asking for 18-24 months behind bars.MatiChek will spend at least 10 years behind bars for the sexual assault of a teenage boy.

Based on the criminal complaint, MatiChek allegedly began a relationship with the boy in the summer of 2014, which continued up until MatiChek's arrest on Feb. 9, 2015. While the victim initially denied any sexual contact to an investigator, he later admitted to multiple sexual encounters with MatiChek. MatiChek eventually pleaded no contest to several charges, including one involving a separate victim in Ozaukee County more than a decade ago.

The Sheboygan victim and many members of his family struggled through tears and anger to describe the ways in which MatiChek, then 33, had not only manipulated a 14-year-old into a sexual relationship but had caused a fundamental change in the victim's behavior and relationship with the rest of his family.

"He stripped away my self-worth," the victim said at the start of his statement. The vitcim detailed how a casual friend request on Facebook later turned into sexual advances and an emotionally damaging relationship that caused his grades to plummet, his appearance to deteriorate and him to lash out at his family, who questioned the changes in his demeanor.

He also described MatiChek as manipulative, turning him against his family and those who wanted to help him and referred to MatiChek as "the devil in disguise."

The victim's father also gave an impassioned plea that MatiChek be put away for the maximum sentence allowed under law, arguing that if MatiChek "had a decent bone in his body" he would voluntarily commit himself following his prison sentence for further evaluation for his sexual behavior.

"Who in their right mind could possibly conceive that that is OK?" the father asked. "It is not OK. It is a crime...shame on you."

MatiChek's attorney Casey Hoff disputed part of the impact on the victim, stating that his grades appeared to be slipping at school before he met MatiChek and that there's evidence revealed through discovery that the victim was sexually active before MatiChek came along. However, he also argued that his client felt true remorse for what he had done and had been working to better himself through counseling while in jail.

Pastor Jim Hollister of the United Church of Christ said he'd met with MatiChek several times following his arrested and jailing and had, following a time having served in solitary confinement, began to grow in his "own knowledge and inner peace" and had begun counseling other inmates.

MatiChek himself told Judge Stengel that he took responsibility for his actions and had time to reflect on what he'd done while in solitary confinement. "In the darkness of that room, my actions became clear as day," MatiChek said, as his victim walked out of the courtroom. MatiChek said he allowed himself to take advantage of the victim in order to calm himself from the stresses of public office, his bout with breast cancer and the loss of what he referred to as his "life partner."

While Hoff recommended 18-24 months incarceration, much of that was based on an analysis provided to the court that said MatiChek was a low risk to reoffend and that he was not a sexual predator.

District Attorney Joe DeCecco called that assertion "shocking," given allegations that MatiChek bought gifts for his victims and attempted to play as a "mentor" to them.

"If this is not a predatory or grooming relationship, I don't know what is," DeCecco said.

Judge Stengel agreed, saying that while MatiChek seemed committed to rehabilitation, his sentence was needed not only to protect the community but to serve as a deterrent.

The conviction comes as MatiChek faces further charges relating to the same victim in Outagamie County.

Reach Jason Smathers at 920-453-5167 or jsmathers1@sheboyganpress.com.