A shadowy liberal special interest group has launched a blitz of sleazy and misleading attack ads in an effort to deceive voters about Judge Jennifer Dorow in advance of the February 21 primary election. The ads are the latest evidence that liberal activists fear Judge Dorow’s broad appeal and prefer to see a weaker candidate than Judge Dorow come through the primary. Television and digital ads by the group focus on 4 cases Judge Dorow oversaw. Here are the facts of those cases:
Dorow’s Record
State of Wisconsin vs Lee Holtgrieve (2019) State of Wisconsin vs Michael Liu (2022)
- Holtgrieve pled no contest to causing a child 13-18 to view sexual activity after he was caught masturbating in his car when a Culver’s employee brought him his drive through order.
- Holtgrieve had no prior sexual offenses and no criminal offenses of any kind for over 12 years.
- The prosecution asked at the sentencing hearing for “the Court to impose an unspecified period of incarceration stayed for 3 years of probation.”
- Judge Dorow sentenced Holtgrieve to exactly what the prosecution requested – 3 years of sex offender probation, along with 2 years of prison and 2 years of extended supervision that were stayed during his probation. Meaning that if he violated any of the terms of his probation he would be sent to prison for as many as 4 years.
- Judge Dorow also sentenced Holtgrieve to 3 months behind bars in jail.
- Judge Dorow also placed tough requirements on Holtgrieve for his probation including 15 years on the sex offender registry, maintaining employment, treatment, counseling, and no unsupervised contact with minors without prior approval.
- Here are some quotes from Judge Dorow speaking to Holtgrieve at the sentencing hearing:
- ‘“Sex offender probation…it’s tough. It’s meant to be tough.”
- “That last component of this is important, sir. There needs to be a punishment’ component to exposing yourself to a minor in the drive-through at a very popular restaurant. You need that as a reminder to you just how abhorrent your behavior was and hopefully as a motivation to you to not serve that prison sentence that I imposed and stayed.”
State of Wisconsin vs Lee Holtgrieve (2019) State of Wisconsin vs Michael Liu (2022)
- Liu, who had no prior record, was convicted of 3 misdemeanors.
- Liu voluntarily entered a treatment program shortly after he was charged in August and a counselor at the program sent a letter to the court saying the man had “demonstrated a high level of commitment to the treatment process and the prognosis is good.”
- Liu was also employed and leaders at his place of work sent a letter in support of the man.
- Despite that, Judge Dorow sentenced Liu to jail AND gave him probation.
- Wisconsin law allows judges to give offenders up to 60 days to report to jail.
- Judge Dorow gave Liu 2 days to report – much less than typically given.
- Read more about this case here: Michael Liu: Jennifer Dorow Gave Tougher Sentence Than Prosecutor Requested in Misdemeanor Case Mandatory Sex Offender Registrant through 2037
State of Wisconsin vs Christopher Gilbert(2020) Mandatory Sex Offender Registrant through 2039
- Gilbert, a life coach, pled guilty to sexual exploitation by a therapist for having a client he was working with masturbate in front of him at her home.
- The prosecution recommended “a withheld sentence for 3 years of probation.” The prosecution also asked for 9-12 months of jail time and 15 years on the sex offender registry.
- Gilbert had no prior criminal record and had testimonials of support from past clients he worked with.
- Judge Dorow followed the prosecution’s recommendation by sentencing Gilbert to 3 years of sex offender probation, along with 3 years of prison and 3 years of extended supervision that were stayed during his probation. Meaning that if Gilbert violates any of the terms of his probation he would be sent to prison for as many as 6 years.
- Judge Dorow also sentenced Gilbert to 6 months in jail and 15 years on the sex offender registry. She also forbid him from ever working again in any capacity as a counselor or therapist.
- Here are some quotes from Judge Dorow speaking to Gilbert at the sentencing hearing: » “It was wrong. There’s nothing therapeutic about it. And I want to make clear that it does not matter for this conviction that you never physically touched her.” » “Sex offender probation is not meant to be a walk in the park. It is our highest level of supervision that can be offered. So that is in part why I’m going along with what is ultimately a recommendation for probation.”
- After sentencing Gilbert to jail and requiring him to immediately be taken into custody, Judge Dorow said: » “That means you’ll be taken into custody and processed through our main jail because…very specifically I want you to think about, sir, had I imposed a prison sentence, that is the door you would have gone out of.”
- Judge Dorow also required Gilbert to pay over $18,000 in restitution saying: » “I do need to address restitution which, frankly, is one of the other reasons why it’s important to put him on probation.”
- Allen pled guilty to 1 felony and 1 misdemeanor for attempting to take photos with his phone up a woman’s dress at a coffee shop and a separate incident where he touched a woman’s buttocks over her clothing while she was using an ATM at a gas station.
- Allen is a veteran who suffers from PTSD and substance abuse issues.
- The prosecution recommended a stayed prison sentence, 3 years of probation, 6 months of jail time with work release and 5 years of sex offender registry.
- Judge Dorow followed the prosecution’s recommendation and sentenced Allen to 2.5 years in prison and 2.5 years of extended supervision that were stayed during 3 years of probation. Meaning that if Allen violated any of the terms of his probation he would be sent to prison for as many as five years.
- Tough probation requirements Judge Dorow imposed included AODA treatment, absolute sobriety, sex offender treatment, employment and no contact with victims or businesses where the offenses occurred.
- Judge Dorow also sentenced Allen to 4 months in jail, staying that to give Allen’s parole agent “a tool” to use to ensure Allen was complying with all of his probation requirements.
- Judge Dorow also imposed an 8-year sex offender registry requirement – even more than the prosecutor asked for.