WISCONSIN News

In prosecuting the case of
a Spooner man initially hailed as a hero for surviving a Minnesota
bridge collapse on his way to see his fiancee's daughter in a hospital
and later found guilty of causing the child's injuries, Washburn County
District Attorney Mike Bitney made a disturbing discovery.
When it became clear that recklessly causing bodily harm to a
child was the most serious crime he could prove, Bitney was shocked to
find the charge carried a significantly lighter penalty than recklessly
causing bodily harm to an adult.

Immediately after prosecuting Michael E. Stoner for harming
then-2-year-old Emma Manning, Bitney consulted with the girl's
grandparents, Cynthia and Carl Manning of Spooner, and they vowed to try
to change the law to increase the penalties for recklessly causing
bodily harm to a child.

That journey came to a successful end Wednesday afternoon when
Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill raising the maximum penalty for that crime
from 10 to 15 years in prison during a ceremony at UW-Eau Claire.

Known as "Emma's Law," the new statute "corrects that inequity
and makes our laws even stronger to make sure we can protect our
children," Doyle said as the Mannings, wearing buttons with a photo of
Emma, watched.

"It's rewarding to see something good has come out of this
tragedy," Cynthia Manning said after Doyle signed the bill, authored by
state Rep. Mary Hubler, D-Rice Lake.

Though the change can't undo the permanent damage done to their granddaughter — Emma, now 4,
remains blind, can't walk, must be tube fed and always will need a
caregiver — the Mannings said it is satisfying to know that from now on
people who commit such crimes at least will face stiffer penalties.

Stoner and Crystal Manning were traveling to see Emma on Aug. 1,
2007, when their car plunged more than 60 feet into the Mississippi
River after the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, killing
13 people. The toddler had been flown to a Minneapolis hospital that
morning.

Stoner told authorities the child fell down a staircase, but
medical experts who examined the girl found several bruises on her body
in various stages of healing, a large burn and a bite mark, the criminal
complaint said. The toddler also suffered a life-threatening brain
injury, likely not caused by an accident or a fall down carpeted stairs,
the complaint said. Doctors determined the injuries were consistent
with shaken-baby syndrome.

Stoner, now 28, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 7 1/2
years in prison and five months of probation.

"At least the legacy of this law change will last beyond the
sentence" for the abuse that left Emma with injuries that essentially
amount to a life sentence, Bitney said.

Four–year–old Emma Manning has come a long way. But she may never be
able to tell you that. Emma can't speak, can barely sit up or even stand
on her own two feet.
Three years ago Emma sustained major brain damage. How the
brain injuries happened to little Emma depends on who you ask.
"She did fall down the stairs. But she did fall down before
within a matter of days and she did end up suffering a subdural
hematoma," Crystal Manning, Emma's mother said.
Law enforcement officials have a different story. They say
Emma's mother's fiance, Michael Stoner, caused the injuries. They
charged Stoner with second degree reckless injury. He pled no contest
but was found guilty and sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in jail.
Emma's mother says Stoner never hurt Emma.
"I know Mike inside out and I know the relationship he has
with Emma. I couldn't have asked for a better man to be my daughter's
father," Manning said.
As Stoner sits in a state prison and Emma struggles to make
progress, Wisconsin lawmakers are changing the way child abuse cases are
handled.
Up until last week it was a greater felony with higher
penalties for an adult to cause great bodily harm to another adult than
it was to a child.
Named after Emma, Governor Jim Doyle signed "Emma's Law". It
promises to keep abusers locked up for 15 years instead of ten.
Lawmakers praise the bill as doing more to protect the state's children.
Emma's mother says she supports tougher penalties for abusers but
doesn't want the law named after Emma.
Authorities who helped craft the new law say separating Emma
and the law cannot be done. That's because they say it was through her
case that the discrepancy was found.
"I was appalled. I could not believe that our legislators
and we in law enforcement have missed this all these years," Washburn
County Sheriff Terry Dryden said.
Emma's mother says she may fight the naming of the law in
the future. But for now she's focused on moving on with her life and
helping Emma.
Emma turns 5 in July. She's still tube fed. No one knows
exactly how long it will be until she can have her favorite eggs and
ketchup again. No one knows if Emma will ever fully recover.

A landmark survey of child abuse prevention efforts in the state has
found that spending on the problem averages only $8 per child. The study
concluded the state lacks a unified vision for prevention and only a
small percentage of the programs in place are backed up by research that
demonstrates their effectiveness. The study also found that areas with
the highest populations spent the least per-child on prevention – though
high-poverty areas, such as Milwaukee, bucked the trend.
Because prevention programs vary so widely in each of the state’s 72
counties, the study took two years to complete, meaning the results
reflect the state of child abuse and neglect prevention in Wisconsin in
2008. The study was released earlier this week by the Wisconsin Council
on Children and Families, the Children’s Trust Fund and the UW-Madison
Institute for Research on Poverty.Using what it describes as “conservative estimates” of the scope of
the state’s prevention programs, the study says per-child spending
ranges from nothing to $100, depending on the county, and averages only
about $8 per child. It speculates that some high-population areas may
have fewer program staff members-per-child than in low-population areas,
resulting in lower rates of per-child spending.
Milwaukee and Menomonee counties were the only two in the state
identified as being at “very high” risk for child abuse or neglect.
Menomonee County, home to the Menomonee Indian Tribe, is small, rural
and impoverished. Risk levels were calculated based on both familial and
economic factors.
The
report calls for greater coordination of prevention efforts at the
state level – and setting a standard for all counties to follow. “There
is very little coordination of these services at the state level, and
very few of the programs being implemented have been rigorously
evaluated,” it says.
In 2008, Child Protection Services agencies across the state received
a total of 56,934 reports of suspected abuse or neglect. About 26,700
of those resulted in investigations, and 5,868 cases involving 4,865
children were substantiated.
In surveying counties, only about 10 percent reported that their
prevention programs were “evidence based,” or backed up by serious
research demonstrating their effectiveness. Researchers were only able
to confirm that about half of those (5 percent of all programs) actually
were “evidence based.”
The most popular types of programs are parenting education classes,
either in groups or one-on-one with a teacher or counselor. About 90
percent of counties in the state have such programs. Also popular are
programs where the instructor visits parents at home (73 percent of
counties) and support groups (67 percent).
Milwaukee County is one of nine counties (plus the Menomonee
Reservation) that receives extra money for prevention programs from the
Bright Futures Initiative, a state program that attempts to funnel
funding to high-need areas.
Pregnant women and mothers of children under age 5 in eight
high-poverty zip codes in Milwaukee (53204, 53205, 53206, 53208, 53210,
53212, 53218, 53233) can request a visit from a social worker under the
state-funded Empowering Families program. The program offers health and
developmental screenings, home safety checks and help connecting to
other services.
The study criticizes state programs for focusing on what it calls
“the deep-end system” – the forces and programs that respond when
something goes wrong.
Funding for such services, the study notes, is more likely to be
preserved than for preventive services like health and developmental
screening. The report argues that prevention is far more effective –
both in human and financial costs – than responding to the “deep end.”

Poster's Note: Though this next story is not about Child Advocacy it is a despicable use of missing children to garner monetary "donations" that only went to the perps pockets... like I said~despicable!

The Wisconsin Department of Justice has filed an enforcement action in Waukesha County alleging that candy donation canisters placed in hundreds of southeast Wisconsin businesses misled consumers into believing that the money raised would assist in the search for missing children. The suit was brought against Michael Messmer, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Marilyn Broerman, of Charlotte, North Carolina, who has operated under the business names Creative Marketing Solutions and The Beacon Project.According to the suit, Messmer purchased over four hundred canisters from Broerman, together with labels Messmer applied to the canisters following Broerman’s instructions. The labels included a reduced-size missing child poster and the statement “Thank You for Your Generous Donation.”The suit alleges that Broerman, using the business names “The Beacon Project” and “Creative Marketing Solutions,” sells the candy vending units and labels, and also provides placement services to find business locations for the canisters. According to the lawsuit, in 2007 Messmer responded to an advertisement Broerman placed in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and purchased a total of 444 candy canisters from Broerman; he later purchased an additional 327 used canisters from persons who had previously bought them from Broerman. In all, the suit alleges that Messmer placed over 700 canisters throughout southeast Wisconsin. The amount of money collected through the bins is not known at this time.
The state’s complaint asserts that the labels on the canisters conveyed the false impression that the proceeds of the candy operations would support the work of charities dedicated to locating missing children. However, none of the money deposited in the candy bins was provided to any charitable organization; nor has Messmer ever registered as a charitable solicitor in Wisconsin.The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting further violations of Wisconsin’s charitable solicitation law, as well as forfeitures and recovery of the state’s costs to investigate and prosecute the case. Each violation of state law carries a forfeiture between $100 and $10,000.“Deceiving the public into believing that money collected by the defendants will benefit missing children is reprehensible,” said Attorney General Van Hollen. ”We will not tolerate false or misleading charitable solicitations, which exploit the generosity of the public, and we will continue to vigorously enforce our charitable solicitation laws.”A copy of the complaint is available here.
The case has been assigned to Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Mac Davis, and is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General John Greene.
Source: Office of Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen