Neopit man sentenced for child sex abuse

Kapishkowit gets 2 1/2 years for crime committed in 2018
By: 
Kevin Murphy
Correspondent

A Neopit man who sexually assaulted a teenage girl in 2018 was sentenced Aug. 6 in federal court to 2½ years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor.
According to court documents, Robert J. Kapishkowit, 26, told authorities that he was intoxicated on the night of June 15, 2018, when he committed a sex act with a minor female who was at a friend’s residence in Neopit.
After the act, the girl talked briefly with her friend and then walked home. The girl reported the offense in fall 2018.
A FBI agent and the Menominee Tribal Police detective met with the girl on Nov. 27, 2018, and then met with Kapishkowit who was in the Dodge Correctional Institution as his supervised release in another case had been revoked.
Kapishkowit told the investigators that, in June 2018, he was living at a Neopit home when the girl came over for a sleepover. The defendant said he left the house for a while and drank at a neighbor’s house. When Kapishkowit returned, he saw the girl in the living room, knew that she was a minor, and had unprotected sex with her.
Kapishkowit’s attorney, Tom Phillip, wrote the court that his client grew up poor, mostly fatherless and at times, lived in shelters with his mother.
Kapishkowit has never married, has no children, and had only “one good job” at American Foods which lasted eight months in 2017. Commuting to Green Bay from Zoar for work was difficult and he regrets losing the job.
For periods of time, Kapishkowit has used marijuana and synthetic marijuana daily and has had periods of binge drinking.
He has prior felony convictions for taking and driving a vehicle without consent and bail jumping and a misdemeanor conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia, according to online court records.
Kapishkowit has goals of graduating from college, getting a stable job and owning a house, Phillip wrote.
Philip sought a 2½-year sentence writing that it would protect the public while his client was in prison and should sufficiently deter him from reoffending.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Maier also pursued a 30-month sentence, according to Kenneth Gales, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kapishkowit faced maximum statutory penalties of 15 years in prison and 37-46 months under the advisory guidelines, which factor in the seriousness of the crime, the defendant’s criminal history and other relevant conduct.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge William Griesbach noted the seriousness of the crime the defendant committed and said the sentence needs to deter others would might consider similar actions, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kapishkowit’s prison term is to be followed by five years on supervised release.
He is currently detained at the Brown County Jail.