Court-ordered HIV testing for Colfax man accused of sexual assault not yet completed
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Court-ordered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing for a 20-year-old Colfax man charged in connection with the sexual assault of a child has not yet been completed.
Brady J. Agema, along with his attorney, Harry Hertel, appeared before Judge James Peterson in Dunn County Circuit Court April 8.
Agema is charged with three felony counts of the first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, two felony counts of the possession of child pornography, and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer.
Hertel told the court that while the judge had ordered the HIV testing, Agema still was not sure where to go yet, according to online court records.
Information on testing was sent in December, said Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Megan Kelly.
Hertel and Kelly agreed that if the case goes to trial, the trial would last two to four days.
Another court hearing for Agema has been scheduled for June 28 at 2:30 p.m.
Judge Peterson ordered the HIV testing in September of 2021.
At the preliminary hearing last September, Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Amber Hahn reminded the court about the motion she had filed asking Judge Peterson to compel HIV testing at the preliminary hearing.
The guardian of the alleged victim has requested that Agema submit to testing for human immunodeficiency virus.
The alleged victim described sexual intercourse, and even though a condom had been used, an exchange of bodily fluids could have occurred, and under state statute 968.38, the belief of an exchange of bodily fluids allows the district attorney to ask for HIV testing, Hahn had said.
Rebecca Merryfield, an investigator with the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, testified at the preliminary hearing that she had reviewed a child forensic interview with one of the alleged victims who had described three incidents of sexual intercourse with Agema.
When asked, Agema said he’d had no sexual contact with the alleged victim, Merryfield had said.
Hertel had objected to Hahn’s request for HIV testing, stating that the request had not been made at the beginning of the preliminary hearing.
According to state statute, the request must be made at or after the initial appearance but before the preliminary hearing, he said.
Hahn reminded the court she had made the request for HIV testing during Agema’s initial appearance on August 11, 2021.
During the initial appearance August 11, Judge Peterson had dismissed the initial case against Agema for technical reasons, and Hahn had immediately refiled the case during the court hearing.
Bail was set for Agema at $10,000 cash on May 10, 2021, but Judge Peterson amended the cash bail to $5,000 at Agema’s initial appearance in the first case May 11, 2021.
