The details in the Bowen case file are disturbing
The details in the Bowen case file are disturbing
The District Attorney last week filed the details of the case against Riverside Fire Chief Robert Bowen and other news
Last Thursday the Marathon County District Attorney filed a criminal complaint against Riverside Fire District Chief Robert Bowen.
The details are disturbing.
Bowen was arrested on May 14 on recommended charges of child enticement. According to Marathon County Court Records, he faces one count of child enticement—exposing genitals/pubic area/intimate parts, which is a class D felony. He also faces two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, which are misdemeanors.
According to the criminal complaint, Bowen had sexual contact with a child (the complaint didn’t name the child, give and age or gender, likely to protect the child’s identity) on two reported occasions between June 1, 2023 and May 8, according to testimony the child gave to the Child Advocacy Center. The Wausonian’s policy would be to protect some identifying details in order to protect the child’s identity anyway and will also not be sharing the details of those two encounters.
At one point, according to the criminal complaint, Bowen insisted that the child play with his sex toys and actually bought one specifically for the child. (Police say they matched an Amazon receipt with the child’s description of the toy.)
The complaint also alleges Bowen offered the child alcohol and weed edibles.
At one point, according to the complaint, Bowen told the child not to tell anyone about their encounters.
Bowen was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. He is currently out on a cash bond of $15,000.
The complaint was filed on May 30, the same day as the “initial appearance” — which in this case (which was standard in Portage County) was separate from the bond hearing held earlier.
The enticement charge is a class D felony. That carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.
A pre-trial conference is currently set for July 2.
Mayor vetoes north RiverLife development plan
Last week, the city council approved a measure that would spend $100,000 on contracting a firm to develop a master plan for the north RiverLife area. The area contains sites from the former Great Lakes Cheese and Wausau Chemical.
On Monday, Mayor Doug Diny announced he was vetoing that plan.
In a press release, Diny said he was vetoing the decision because the city needs to control its spending, needs to prioritize the land it’s already trying to develop in the main Riverlife area, and cited a tax increment district ready to close there and the need to work with the Woodchucks on a new parking lot.
Andrew Lynch in that meeting said the money is already included in the department’s budget to develop that plan.
Diny prior to the vote last week told the council he thought the city needed to save money where it could and made some of those same points. He did not mention potentially vetoing the motion, the first of his term.
The council could, if it chooses, still override the veto with a supermajority (2/3 voting in favor) according to Wisconsin State Statutes. But whether it would or not is another question. The measure passed council 7-4. With 11 members, is that a 2/3 majority?
Nope. The Wausonian dug into League of Wisconsin Municipalities guidelines. The rule is that 2/3 of a voting body is factored by taking the actual number and rounding up to the nearest whole number. Since 2/3 of 11 is a little more than 7, it rounds up to 8.
So someone would need to change their previous vote for the north RiverLife plan development to pass.
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