Alec Cook’s notebook, retrieved during a search of his apartment, will not be able to be used for his upcoming trial after two Dane County circuit judges granted a motion set forth by Cook’s attorneys.
Cook was arrested in October 2016 on 21 counts including 12 counts of sexual assault, six of which include force and two counts of strangulation and suffocation.
He was released on bail in December 2016.
The motion for suppression argued that the seizure of Cook’s notebook was a result of police officers extending their search beyond the limited scope Cook granted when the notebook was originally discovered.
On Oct. 17, Cook signed a “Consent to Search Residence” allowing the Madison Police Department to search and seize “any womens (sic) clothing, biological including hair, sex toys, bedding, clothing, lube condoms, photographs found therin.”
During the search that evening, officers found a leather notebook they described as “systematically formatted” and that each page had descriptions of particular women and goals Cook had regarding the individual.
Officers photographed the notebook and used the pictures to receive a second warrant specifically to seize the notebook.
Cook’s attorneys argued that these initial photographs violated his initial consent to search, rendering the second warrant invalid.
Judges John Hyland and Stephen Ehlke agreed, granting the motion.
The attorneys for Cook declined to comment on the decision.
The first trial for Cook is set to begin Feb. 26 and will cover six of the more serious charges Cook is facing. These include one count of second-degree sexual assault and use of force, three counts of third-degree sexual assault, one count of strangulation and suffocation and one count of false imprisonment.
The trial is scheduled to last four days.
