Thursday, April 24, 2025
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Thursday, April 24, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

Josh Kaul’s Office Got Serial Sex Offender Out on Signature Bond in Rape Kit Case

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The state Department of Corrections currently lists Hank Elmore as a non-compliant sex offender. Far from prioritizing public safety, Josh Kaul’s office treated Elmore leniently in court. And Elmore has been a disaster.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul’s office successfully sought a signature bond and then probation in the case of a serial sex offender who was one of the very few cases charged as part of the high-profile efforts to clear the rape kit backlog.

Although Kaul’s prosecutor recommended probation and a judge agreed, Hank Elmore has already violated it. He’s currently sitting in the La Crosse County Jail on a probation violation.

Elmore was convicted of third-degree sexual assault as a result of the rape kit test. Assistant Attorney General Noel A. Lawrence, who works for Kaul, is listed as the prosecutor. The court records confirm, “State requests a signature bond.” The judge gave Elmore the signature bond that Kaul’s office wanted in 2020. That means he did not have to post any cash to get back out.

This is despite Elmore’s long criminal history: 4th offense OWI, 4th degree sexual assault as a repeater and false imprisonment, reporting a false emergency to 911, bail jumping, fail to report to the county jail, domestic abuse disorderly conduct. In short, it’s baffling why anyone would think Elmore wouldn’t screw up on a sig bond.

Kaul once touted the case publicly, even though the backlogged rape kit was first tested under Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel in 2018. Kaul has made a big deal out of the rape kit backlog, even though it was almost entirely cleared by Schimel and has resulted in almost no convictions.

Elmore’s is a rare case (one of six) where a belatedly tested rape kit resulted in a conviction under Kaul. Not surprisingly Kaul doesn’t really talk about the case anymore, though. Why? Far from prioritizing public safety, his office treated Elmore leniently in court. And Elmore has been a disaster.

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Elmore did not do a good job out in the community on the signature bond. In 2021, Elmore did not show up for court and a bench warrant was issued. He was located, and the $2,500 signature bond was reinstated. Elmore failed to appear in court again. He later showed up and a warrant was quashed.

When he was finally convicted in February 2021, the prosecutor joined with the defense to recommend probation. “Joint recommendation for: 4 years probation,” court records say.

Elmore was sentenced to probation with a stayed prison term, but soon, another warrant was issued. At a court hearing, the prosecutor requested yet another warrant and a probation agent revealed they weren’t seeking to revoke Elmore and send him to prison. “Court ordered a 90-day conditional jail sentence,” court records say.

The state Department of Corrections currently lists Elmore as a non-compliant sex offender.

Elmore “has prior convictions for sexual assault from 2003 and 2014,” according to NBC15.

“After more than ten long years, there has finally been a conviction in this case,” said Attorney General Kaul when he announced Elmore’s conviction. “Through the Wisconsin Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and other critical work, the Wisconsin Department of Justice is continuing to make it a priority to hold offenders accountable, support survivors, and strengthen Wisconsin’s response to sexual assault.”

Kaul was elected by slamming former Republican AG Brad Schimel on the rape kits, saying, “But testing the DNA in one of these can help catch a dangerous criminal.”

However, records show, his office let the serial sex offender walk out of the jail without posting any cash.

Overall, 4,471 rape kits were tested by November 2019, almost all in Schimel’s tenure. In September 2018, Schimel announced that “evidence related to 4,154 sexual assault cases have been tested” and only five cases still needed testing. Josh Kaul took office a few months later. Private labs received contracts to do the testing. The crime lab played a role in testing evidence from the private labs, according to the MacIver Institute. By May 2018, 1,884 of the rape kits had been tested.

Schimel was already working on the kit backlog for two years before Josh Kaul took office (rape kits were untested under previous AGs, including JB Van Hollen, Jim Doyle and Kaul’s mother, Lautenschlager; Schimel eliminated the backlog during his tenure yet he was still hit hard by Kaul, the media, and the Democrat Party as they turned it into a campaign issue.) The untested kits dated back to the 1980s. A DOJ report from 2018 found that clearing the untested rape kit backlog delayed testing in 350 other cases. Yet Schimel was pressured relentlessly by Kaul and the media to prioritize testing the old kits, even though they ultimately resulted in almost no findings of criminal guilt.

As the La Crosse Tribune noted, the kits were untested for years because, in some cases, “suspects were already identified, prosecutors felt cases were too weak to continue or victims wouldn’t cooperate.”

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Trump Expands Gulf of America Oil & Natural Gas Production

Reversing Biden administration policies that halted offshore leasing, prompting lawsuits and restricting oil and natural gas development, the Trump administration is expanding offshore capabilities.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum directed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to hold the administration’s first offshore lease sales in the Gulf of America, with the first proposed notice of sale slated for June.

“By continuing to expand offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, strengthens domestic industry and reinforces its role as an energy superpower,” the Interior Department says. “Opening the Outer Continental Shelf is central to this strategy as it unleashes domestic energy potential that had been blocked under the previous administration,” and is expected to generate tens of thousands of high-paying jobs throughout the industry.

The BOEM also released a new analysis stating that a significant increase of estimated oil and natural gas reserves exists in the Gulf of America Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM’s updated assessment evaluated more than 140 oil and natural gas fields, identifying 18 new discoveries, and analyzed more than 37,000 reservoirs across 1,336 fields in the Gulf.

It says there’s an “additional 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2021, bringing the total reserve estimate to 7.04 billion barrels of oil equivalent. This includes 5.77 billion barrels of oil and 7.15 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – a 22.6% increase in remaining recoverable reserves.”

“This new data confirms what we’ve known all along – America is sitting on a treasure trove of energy, and under President Trump’s leadership, we’re unlocking it,” Burgum said. “The Gulf of America is a powerhouse, and by streamlining permitting and expanding access, we’re not just powering our economy – we’re strengthening our national security and putting thousands of Americans back to work.”

The comprehensive review added 4.39 billion barrels of oil equivalent in original reserves, BOEM found. “After subtracting production of 3.09 billion barrels of oil equivalent since 2020–2021, the net increase reflects continued opportunity and momentum in offshore development,” it says.

“The Gulf of America is delivering 14% of the nation’s oil,” BOEM Gulf of America Regional Director Dr. James Kendall said. “These updated estimates reaffirm the Gulf’s vital role in ensuring a reliable, affordable domestic energy supply.”

The BOEM oversees nearly 3.2 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf, with roughly 160 million acres located in the Gulf.

“Energy dominance is a pillar of U.S. economic strength and global leadership,” the Interior Department argues. “By expanding offshore capabilities, the United States ensures affordable energy for consumers, creates high-paying jobs, and reduces dependence on foreign adversaries. … Expanded leasing is projected to create tens of thousands of jobs across exploration, production, logistics and supply chains — revitalizing coastal economies and fueling American innovation.”

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, also announced it is beginning production at Dover, a second subsea tieback connecting new wells to existing infrastructure of its Appomattox production hub in the Gulf of America. Dover’s estimated peak production is 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, it says.

Shell is the leading deep-water operator in the Gulf of America; Dover was discovered under the first Trump administration in 2018.

It’s located in Mississippi Canyon, roughly 170 miles offshore southeast of New Orleans.

Shell estimates that Dover will “contain 44.5 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable resources, adding stable, secure energy resources.”

Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities have generated billions of dollars in revenue from lease sales, rental fees and royalties to the federal government and states, helping to fund infrastructure, education and public services and wildlife conservation. They also help strengthen U.S. energy independence, national security and global stability, by reducing reliance on foreign producers, the Trump administration argues.

Offshore production in the Gulf of America accounts for the third greatest volume in the country, of nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, according to Energy Information Agency data from January. The greatest volume is produced in the Permian Basin in west Texas, which leads the U.S. in oil and natural gas production, The Center Square reported.

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