RHINELANDER, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced that a jury in Oneida County found Brandon A. Darnick guilty of First Degree Child Sex Assault – Sexual Contact with a Person Under Age 13 for an assault that occurred in 2013. The victim’s sexual assault kit was tested as part of the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) in 2018. The case was presided over by Oneida Co. Judge Patrick F. O’Melia.

“Because of the commitment to justice of many public servants and a brave survivor, a child sex offender had been convicted,” said Attorney General Kaul. “This case demonstrates yet again why a backlog of untested sexual assault kits is totally unacceptable.”

This conviction was the result of a joint effort by civilian witnesses, Minocqua Police Department, Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory, Sorenson Forensics, St. Claire’s Hospital, Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative team at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), and DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation. Victim services were provided by the DOJ Office of Crime Victim Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Amber Hahn and Noel Lawrence, with assistance from legal associate Tiffany Briggs, paralegals Jackie Righter and Rachael Sweet, and support staff Nikole Kane and Julia Patz, in partnership with the Oneida County District Attorney’s Office.

A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled. This crime carries a potential maximum sentence of up to 60 years consisting of 40 years initial confinement and 20 years extended supervision.