Attorney General Josh Kaul and Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley are today announcing charges have been filed in a case involving multiple previously backlogged sexual assaults evidence kits.
“This case shows why it’s critical for public safety that every sexual assault kit is sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Labs. Thank you to the multi-disciplinary team at DOJ that has carefully reviewed cold cases to get justice for survivors and to DA Graveley for prosecuting this case,” said Kaul.
“This outcome is exactly what local prosecutors were hoping for when the Attorney General and the DOJ redoubled the efforts to get all remaining cold case sexual assault evidence tested a few years ago. Based on the allegation in this complaint, Kenosha is tangibly safer today because of these efforts,” said Graveley.
In the complaint, Matthew Crockett, age 46 of Racine, is accused of first degree sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, and two counts of false imprisonment. The complaint alleges assaults occurred in 2014 and 2015 in Kenosha. The complaint also mentions two other alleged assaults that occurred in Racine in 2014 and 2017. Multiple previously backlogged sexual assault kits were tested as part of the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Sexual Assault Kit Initiative, linked, and led to the charges.
This investigation was the result of a joint effort by local, state, and federal partners, as well as a multidisciplinary team of criminal justice professionals at the Wisconsin Department of Justice from the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory (WSCL), Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Division of Legal Services (DLS), Office of Crime Victim Services (OCVS), and Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis (BJIA), and Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center. They were assisted by the Racine Police Department, Kenosha Police Department, Racine County District Attorney’s Office, and the FBI.
Republished courtesy of Wisconsn DOJ/Kenosha County. Photo credit: Wisconsin DOJ