Racine County man accused of 200+ sex crimes appears in court
RACINE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A man who police say recorded himself having sex with three people -- including a juvenile -- after he drugged them in Racine County, appeared in court Thursday, April 15. Right now, Shane Stanger is only facing two counts of second degree sexual assault of an unconscious victim, but he could face more than 200 charges in all.
The Racine County District Attorney's Office has new information about the case since the last court hearing. The DA and Stanger's defense attorney agreed to reschedule Thursday's preliminary hearing.
Alexander Kostal is Stanger's defense. He asked for a complete criminal complaint.
“Have everything squared away so we can have one effective hearing on this manner."
The story broke three weeks ago. Since then, a sheriff’s spokesman tells us they’ve had plenty of solid tips and even more charges could follow. It’s all thanks to one brave Racine County woman who stepped forward.
Forty-six-year-old Shane Stanger, who police say traveled between Iowa and Wisconsin, faces 87 counts of sexually assaulting an unconscious victim. That’s part of a 200-count indictment against him which also include possession of child pornography. This guy’s off the streets, thanks to a Rochester woman who bravely copied the videos she discovered on Stanger’s laptop of sexual encounters with him that she wasn’t aware happened.
“What we typically see is that only about 50% of individuals that seek care for sexual assault services actually have law enforcement involvement,” said Sharain Horn, vice president of the Well Community at Advocate Aurora Health Care.
On average, more than 700 victims seek help from the Well Community at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee each year.
“The research definitely shows that those that get counseling and support early on tend to do better with their long-term healing journey,” said Horn.
Counselors encourage victims to press charges, but truly leave that difficult decision up to the individual.
“We want people in those early stages to really have control over what decisions they make for their journey around healing. There are some victims that feel like being able to report and go through that criminal justice process actually gives them their power back,” said Horn.
Should a victim choose to report the crime, as is the case against Stanger, the Well Community has advocates to be there every step of the way.
“So whether it’s being with them when they go to a hearing or a sentencing, just being there, even if they’re just sitting in the audience so they can make that eye contact,” said Horn.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Well Community has a 24/7 hotline. It’s 414-219-5555.
The Racine County Sheriff’s Department continues to seek tips in the case. Please direct them to Investigator Sparks at 262-886-8443.
Stanger's next preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 6 at 10 a.m.