At 15, suspect already has
lengthy record
4 youths charged in sex
assault have rap sheets
Posted: Sept. 15, 2006
By age 10, Leon had been
referred to Milwaukee County Children's court four times,
once for trying to sexually assault a 6-year-old relative.
Now 15, he has been placed on probation five times, received
mental health, mentoring and counseling services, and has
been placed in multiple residential treatment centers and
treatment foster homes, records show.
On Friday, he joined the
growing list of people charged in the sexual assaults of an
11-year-old girl on Labor Day. Leon, whose last name is not
being used because he is a juvenile, was charged with being
party to the crime of two counts of first-degree sexual
assault and obstructing an officer. A 13-year-old boy with
no record was also charged Friday with two counts of
first-degree sexual assault in the case.
Four of the six juveniles
charged, records show, had prior contact with the juvenile
justice system in addition to some personal drug
involvement, or a parent involved with drugs.
In late August, Leon had
been released to a residential treatment center in Wauwatosa
from Ethan Allen School for delinquent boys in Delafield,
where he served almost a year for auto theft and disorderly
conduct, records show.
His court-ordered
supervision was scheduled to expire Oct. 21. A state motion
to extend it was scheduled to be heard next week Tuesday.
Corrections officials described him as "a confused and angry
young man" and said his adjustment at Ethan Allen had been
poor.
Citing confidentiality, a
state Department of Corrections spokesman on Friday said he
could not explain why the boy had been released to a
community setting or was at the north side house where the
girl was assaulted.
Of Leon's seven siblings,
four have extensive criminal histories, records say. Neglect
and abuse referrals on the family date back to 1981.
Placed in and out of foster
care, the records note, Leon was born with cocaine in his
system, although his mother sought treatment and says she
has been drug-free for several years. She told authorities
that she works third shift at a minimum wage job.
Overwhelmed with her children's problems, she often does not
appear for their court dates.
The boy's father died in
2000 from a brain aneurysm, according to records.
