Downing man found guilty of child assault

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE  — A 29-year-old Downing man has pleaded no contest to the second degree sexual assault of a child and has been found guilty.

Brian T. Kerns appeared in Dunn County Circuit Court March 6 with his attorney, Scott S. Schlough, for a plea hearing before Judge Rod Smeltzer.

Judge Smeltzer accepted Kerns’ plea of no contest, found him guilty of second degree sexual assault, and dismissed four other felonies and one misdemeanor that were read into the record for sentencing.

Kerns also was charged with two other Class C felonies, two Class D felonies and one misdemeanor related to the sexual assault of a girl who was 15 when the assaults started and 16 when the assaults ended.

Judge Smeltzer ordered a Pre-sentence Investigation and scheduled a one-and-a-half hour sentencing hearing on July 17.

According to the criminal complaint, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department had learned about a woman who had reported to the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department that Kerns was engaging in inappropriate text messages and possibly had sexual contact with a teenaged girl.

When deputies were attempting to locate Kerns and checked the residence in Downing, they learned Kerns had left suddenly and that Kerns and his fiance had traveled to Arkansas in an attempt to flee the area, knowing Kerns was going to be taken into custody for sexual assault, according to the complaint.

A jury trial had been scheduled for Kerns later this month.

Judge James Peterson set a cash bail of $25,000 at a November 20 hearing and ordered Kerns to have no contact with any girls under the age of 18.

Kerns remained in custody at the time of the plea hearing March 6.