Racine Mayor Gary Becker was held in the Kenosha County Jail for a short time Wednesday, after being arrested on tentative charges of child enticement and several other offenses.
Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation agents took Becker into custody Tuesday night at Brookfield Square Mall in suburban Milwaukee.
He was taken to Racine and later booked into the Kenosha jail to avoid conflict-of-interest issues, as he is a high-profile Racine official, a Racine County Sheriff’s official said. He was released at 5:30 p.m. after a relative posted his $165,000 cash bond.
The Division of Criminal Investigation is recommending charges including child enticement, possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office.
Racine County District Attorney Michael Niekes said he was reviewing documents Wednesday, and that any formal charges would likely be filed this morning. If he is charged, Becker is expected to make an initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court this afternoon.
State Department of Justice spokesman Bill Cosh declined to comment Wednesday on the details of Becker’s alleged offenses. Cosh said the information will likely emerge along with a criminal complaint from Nieskes’ office. Cosh would not confirm whether Becker was arrested as part of a sting operation.
Racine Police Lt. James Dobbs said his department was made aware of possible allegations against Becker several weeks ago, at which time the investigation was referred to the state.
Becker, 51, was first elected mayor in April 2003 and re-elected unopposed in 2007.
He has been a vocal supporter of the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail proposal.
The city’s Web site states Becker has been married since 1981 and has two daughters.
In Becker’s absence, Racine City Council President David Maack will serve as acting mayor, City Administrator Ben Hughes said. Hughes said preparations were being made to make sure city government operations would continue without interruption.
“This city will continue to operate smoothly, and we will not miss a beat,” Hughes said.
Racine County Sheriff’s Lt. Dan Klatt said his department requested Becker’s transfer to the Kenosha County Jail.
If Becker is charged formally and does not post bond, Klatt said Becker will be jailed in Kenosha and be transported to his Racine court appearances.
“We’ve kept people for Kenosha County, and they keep people for us occasionally,” Klatt said.
In an unrelated matter, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department was asked in June 2006 to investigate a Racine Police Department action against Becker.
That investigation found Racine police did not commit misconduct when squads were dispatched to search for and intercept Becker on a report he was driving drunk. Becker, who was not arrested at the time, said then he believed police were acting on a tip from a political opponent.
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