I really wish Kenneth Kratz was one of the many adults who don't know how to text. Unfortunately, that's just not the case. The Calumet County District Attorney, is currently under fire for sexually suggestive text messages he sent to a client last October. Kratz has tried to downplay this scandal for several months, which accounts for the large gap in time before the Associated Press caught wind of the story and all hell broke loose.
The recipient of these vulgar messages was 26-year-old Stephanie Van Groll, the client of 50-year-old Kratz. Van Groll was the victim of domestic abuse and Kratz was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend on strangulation charges.
Kratz sent 30 illicit text messages over the span of three days. In one message, he referred to her as a ""tall, young, hot nymph."" I didn't think 50-year-olds even knew what the word ""nymph"" meant. And how his pudgy little fingers could type this out on the keyboard of a phone is beyond me, but it gets even more disturbing.
When Van Groll would take too long to respond to one of his messages, he would start to get offended and begin sending her demeaning text messages, taking shots at her level of confidence and using this lack of self-esteem as an excuse for why she wasn't more into the thought of a secret relationship. It never struck him that this woman was simply not interested. How a man as idiotic as Kratz was ever elected to the post of District Attorney is incomprehensible—he must have been good at concealing the lust for his clients in his beady eyes during the campaigning process.
To pursue a woman in this way who has fallen victim to domestic abuse is one of the lowest lows you can sink to. Van Groll went to Kratz for help, trusting him to take care of her and protect her through the court system. Kratz took this confidence in his abilities to highly unprofessional levels. She even feared Kratz would drop the case against her ex-boyfriend if she didn't cooperate with him. This could have led to her abuser going free and gaining the opportunity to harm her again. Luckily, Van Groll was a strong enough woman to report this harassment after only a few days, which lead to Kratz removing himself from the case and the beginnings of a police investigation. I commend her for not letting this awful man walk all over her just because he was in a position of higher authority. It doesn't matter who you are, you do not ask a client if she is ""the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA""
However, what scares me is that the harassment Kratz committed is not considered misconduct or even illegal. I guess that's a testament to our legal system ... if the crime isn't bad enough, we can't do anything about it. But I say forget procedure, this man needs to be out of our courts.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has now said that he will begin the process of attempting to remove Kratz from his position, being that this pride-less man refuses to resign. The attorney made a statement to the press that he is ""deeply sorry"" to everyone involved and embarrassed at his actions. If he were truly sorry and embarrassed he would never have done it in the first place. He would have known better than to speak to someone so derogatively. Kratz is only sorry Van Groll didn't share his interest in the affair.
Kratz wife filed for divorce in December, and other women have stepped up accusing him of unwanted sexual advances. In the meantime, Kratz is taking medical leave from his position as DA in order to seek out psychiatric help, which is good.
So what can we take away from these unfortunate events? I'd say always practice safe sexting by doing it with someone who's actually interested.
Jaime Brackeen is a sophomore majoring in journalism. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
