Oconto County officials are working on a residential construction project that will serve as the home for an elderly male classified as a serious sex offender.
The home will be on county-owned land at 6804 Daly Creek Road, Oconto Falls.
According to a news release, in August 2024, the Oconto County Circuit Court ordered Oconto County via the Oconto County Supervised Release Placement Committee to identify an appropriate residential option for an elderly male meeting the criteria under state law to be a serious child sex offender.
Charges against the man were filed in 1990. The residential option must be in Oconto County per state law, requiring the release to the county where the initial crime occurred.
County officials said extensive efforts to locate a residential option within the county with various landlords have proven unsuccessful due to the strict guidelines set forth in the statutes. Other Wisconsin counties have had to create a residential option to satisfy the court’s order under Wisconsin law or face legal and financial consequences.
Even though Wisconsin Act 184 went into effect in 2017, the county has not had a case up until 2024 where the court ordered Oconto County to identify a residential option.
After the construction project is complete, Oconto County is required to issue a report to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services regarding the proposed supervised release placement, and in turn, DHS is required to submit a supervised release plan to the court.
This project is not a treatment facility, but rather a residence. DHS works with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections to provide probation and parole monitoring for this type of supervised release with communication with local law enforcement.
The Oconto County Sheriff’s Department will provide community notification once the release is ordered by Oconto County Circuit Court and a date of occupancy is determined. Notification will include a special bulletin notification, an open meeting and posters.
