Racine County violent sex offender to be placed in town of Eldorado

VAN DYNE – The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has ruled to allow a violent sex offender from Racine County to be placed in Fond du Lac County's town of Eldorado.

As of Wednesday, Preston Rintamaki will be placed at N8578 Nitschke Road, in Van Dyne, according to a press release from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. Rintamaki, 48, was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child in 1991, and in 1999, was deemed a sexually violent person, or chapter 980 sex offender, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections Sex Offender Registry.

Leased by the Department of Heath Services for its supervised release program, the home is for men "once deemed violent sex offenders" who have a "predisposition to reoffend," according to USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin archives.

The site also saw the placement of James Broeders, who, according to court records, had sex with a "female acquaintance" and a sexual relationship with his caseworker, violating the court order, and was the subject of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin investigation earlier this year. 

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Through the chapter 980 law, a judge can order someone be committed to a treatment facility if he or she commits a sexually violent offense, is a danger to others and has a mental disorder. The offenders may petition for release once they significantly show progress in treatment; under the supervised release, they undergo scheduled and random in-person checks and are placed under 24-hour GPS monitoring, 

Rintamaki's placement follows efforts from the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office, Fond du Lac County Corporation Counsel and the Town of Eldorado to stop the order by a Racine County judge on May 4, citing Act 184. The law, signed by Gov. Scott Walker in March, stipulates that offenders who are part of the supervised release program must return to their home counties.

According to a letter Fond du Lac County Sheriff Mylan Fink sent to the Supervised Release Program Coordinator in June, the placement of Rintamaki will put into jeopardy the safety of a teen who lives on the street “each and every weekend.” A canvass of the area surrounding the placement residence found that 70 percent had “juvenile occupants or juveniles that visited on a regular basis.”

“I am sure there are no statistics available in regards to the average time it takes to sexually assault a child, however, a weekend is more than enough time to intentionally place that child in danger,” he wrote.

However, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals found that the placement was not in violation of Act 184, according to court records. The court states that “the property is set back 1,500 feet from any adjacent property where a child primarily resides and the property is leased by the Department of Health Services and has been used for this purpose before.”

Rintamaki has undergone “years of treatment” and voluntarily takes anti-androgen medication, which suppresses testosterone. If he “remains confined” at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston, he will be harmed through “loss of liberty,” according to the court. However, the order states that under supervised release, his liberties will be restricted. 

“The court acknowledged that every supervised release presents a potential risk to the community, but the supervised release procedures help reduce that risk,” the court order read.

As the appeals case progresses, Fink argues this placement does not align with the “intent of the Wisconsin legislators” following the passing of Act 184, but he will honor the order, and fulfill his “statutory obligations as required,” he said in a press release.

Fink asks that residents in the area of the placement contact the sheriff’s office if in need of assistance.

Sharon Roznik contributed to this report.