Mayor Busted!

RACINE,WI Mayor Gary Becker has been arrested on multiple felony charges related to attempted sexual assault of a child and having child pornography, according to a state agency.

Becker was taken into custody at Brookfield Square Mall in Brookfield on Tuesday afternoon. He was arrested for child enticement, possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office, according to the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation.

A complaint made to the Racine Police Department several weeks ago is what led to the arrest, according to Lt. Jim Dobbs, a department spokesman.

At a press conference at City Hall Wednesday morning, Dobbs said that city police then contacted DCI, which took over the investigation.

Upon his arrest Becker was transported to the Kenosha County Jail, where he is being held on a $165,000 cash bond.

Racine County Sheriff Bob Carlson said local authorities made the decision to move Becker to Kenosha. “It’s a better security process,” he said. “It’s not unusual.”

However, the case is still a Racine County case, according to Deputy District Attorney Rich Chiapete. They have not drafted a criminal complaint yet and said they couldn’t comment further until they received all of the paperwork on the investigation.

“We’re still waiting on reports,” Chiapete said. “We’re anticipating it’s going to be (Thursday)” that charges are formally filed.

If charges are filed, Becker would appear in Racine County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday for an initial appearance.

Police Chief Kurt Wahlen said Wednesday morning that he was shocked by the allegations against Becker. He knew about the investigation when the department received the complaint, but said DCI handled it.

“They took the ball and ran with it,” Wahlen said. “We moved into the back seat.”

Bill Cosh, a spokesman for DCI, said Wednesday he was unable to provide any further details on their investigation. It has not been released where the child pornography was found, however City Attorney Rob Weber said no search warrants had been executed at City Hall.

Cosh would not say whether Becker’s arrest was part of an online sting through DCI’s Wisconsin Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. In the ongoing program, state agents pose as underage children online. Child predators make contact with the agents and set up meetings, oftentimes for sex with what they think is a minor.

When the suspected predator shows up at the meeting place, they are arrested.