A Suring man who was arrested in Texas after he allegedly fled the state to avoid trial on child sex abuse charges has been given two months to consider taking a plea offer.
Michael James Bullock, 41, appeared before Oconto County Circuit Judge Michael Judge on Dec. 11, when defense attorney Eric Maciolek said he had received the state’s plea offer the day before and had not yet had time to discuss it with his client.
Judge scheduled a status conference for Feb. 17.
Bullock had been scheduled to stand trial beginning July 31 on two counts of repeated sexual assault of a child, as well as several counts stemming from allegedly stationing a hidden camera in a bathroom and recording intimate video of a young woman showering.
Bullock was free after posting a total of $40,000 cash bond, with a condition of his bail being that he wear a GPS ankle bracelet at all times. The criminal complaint alleges that on July 2 the woman who owns the house where he was staying found the bracelet hanging from a hook in the bathroom.
Investigators said the inside of the bracelet was coated with a Vaseline-like substance, making it slippery. Bullock also left his cellphone behind and had run it through a factory reset, according to the complaint.
Two weeks later, the suspect was spotted at an RV park in Texas by a citizen who happened to see an Oconto County Sheriff’s Office social media post asking for information about Bullock’s whereabouts.
When Bullock was brought back into an Oconto County courtroom on Aug. 5, Judge revoked his bail and set a new cash bond of $1.5 million. The defendant remains in custody.
wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com
Suspect who fled to Texas offered plea
