WAUPACA, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that Waupaca County Judge Troy L. Nielsen sentenced Leroy R. Whittenberger to 25 years in prison, followed by 15 years extended supervision, on three counts of Second Degree Sexual Assault for the assault of a teenage victim that occurred in July 2012. Whittenberger will also be subject to lifetime registration as a sex offender. The victim’s sexual assault kit was tested as part of the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) in 2017. This is the first conviction and sentencing to result from the testing of backlogged sexual assault kits in Wisconsin.
“As a result of this prosecution, a serial sex offender will be in prison for a long time,” said Attorney General Kaul. “Thank you to many people who worked to get justice in this case.”
A jury in Waupaca County convicted Whittenberger of the three Class C Felony in August 2019.
This case was the result of joint effort by civilian witnesses, New London Police Department, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory DNA Analyst Kara Raymond, and the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Amber Hahn and Noel Lawrence, with assistance from legal associate Tiffany Briggs, paralegals Jackie Righter and Rachael Sweet, in partnership with the Waupaca County District Attorney’s Office.
Leroy Whittenberger is a serial sexual offender and has three prior sexual assault convictions from Lincoln and Marathon counties. Law enforcement and local advocacy service providers from those counties were instrumental in bringing about these new convictions.
A criminal complaint is available on request.
For survivors looking for information about their kit, contact the law enforcement agency where the assault was reported, a local sexual assault service provider, or the DOJ Office of Crime Victim Services at 1-800-446-6564.