Knapp man charged with assault of 14-year-old

By LeAnn R. Ralph

MENOMONIE —  An 18-year-old Knapp man has been charged in Dunn County with the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl.

Austin D. Freeland appeared in Dunn Count Circuit Court November 17 for a preliminary hearing with his attorney, William Schembera, on one felony count of the second-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 16.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged sexual assault occurred in the Village of Knapp in July of 2016.

The alleged victim said she had repeatedly told Freeland “no,” and that later on, he had wanted to have sex again and had set up his cell phone so that he could record the encounter. A knock on the door interrupted the episode. When Freeland was asked how old the girl was, he said she was 17 even though the alleged victim had told him she was 14 years old, according to the complaint.

The alleged victim said Freeland started to record another sexual encounter but that she had pushed him off of her. At that time, there was another knock on the door, and the alleged victim said it was someone she knew and that she had told the woman she wanted to leave and why she wanted to leave, according to the complaint.

The alleged victim said that about a month later, Freeland had sent a Snap Chat message to her, asking if she had gotten her period yet because Freeland was worried that she might be pregnant.

A $5,000 cash bail was set for Freeland, and at the time of the preliminary hearing, he was still in custody.

Freeland has been ordered by the court to have no contact with any juvenile females under the age of 16.

An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Freeland in Dunn County Circuit Court December 8.