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August 05, 2004

Man appears in court on charges he sexually assaulted toddler son

By Jeff Wilford

RACINE - When Matthew J. Wetter was given primary placement of his son, then 11 months old, in July 2003, he had been out of prison for less than two months. He had been there for six months because he violated probation.

Exactly why Wetter won primary placement - he and the mother, Rachel M. Fry, shared joint custody - isn't reflected in Kenosha County Family Court records, where Fry had gone to seek child support. Family Court Commissioner James Fitzgerald, who issued the order, could not be reached for comment.

Racine County Deputy District Attorney Mike Nieskes said his understanding was the placement had to do with permanent addresses: Wetter had one and Fry didn't. Based on that, Fry and the court commissioner felt she wasn't able to care for the child at the time.

Turns out, Wetter was shockingly unable to care for the child, either.

Wetter, 22, appeared in Racine County Circuit Court Wednesday afternoon on 10 felony charges, including first-degree sexual assault of a child, incest with a child, child abuse and not preventing child abuse. He's accused of sodomizing his 23-month-old son, biting him and striking him in the genitals and across the head.

Wetter told investigators he did these things in fits of rage, to re-enforce potty training and to discipline the child for bad behavior.

In court Wednesday, Wetter tried to hide his face from photographers. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing. When it came time to enter a plea, he stood silent and Court Commissioner James Drummond entered innocent pleas for him.

Wetter's roommate, Nikolaas Hakomaki, 21, also was in court on three charges of child abuse. He's accused of also biting Wetter's son to discipline the child. He pleaded innocent to the charges.

Fry declined to comment when she showed up for the Wetter and Hakomaki court hearings.

The boy was born on Aug. 6, 2002, while Wetter was on probation for burglary and possession of marijuana, according to Kenosha County court records. Wetter went to prison that November for violating probation.

In March 2003, Fry went to court to collect child support from Wetter. He was still in prison. He also never contested that he was the boy's father.

He was released from prison on May 27, 2003, according to the state Department of Corrections.

On July 11, 2003, Wetter and Fry were given joint custody of their son, but Wetter was given primary placement. Fry was given placement of the child every other weekend and every Wednesday evening, provided she wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol when she came to get him. Court Commissioner James Fitzgerald also ordered Fry to pay Wetter $35 a week in child support.

Last May, Fry was ordered to show up in court to explain why she hadn't paid any child support. She faced a contempt charge, but Wetter forgave the debt and contempt proceedings stopped.

Fry discovered her son's injuries when she went to pick him up at Wetter's house on July 21, according to court records. When asked what happened, Wetter told her first that he didn't know, then that the boy had run into a wall.

"He's reckless," he said.

Fry then took her son to her mother's house, then to Memorial Hospital of Burlington. That's when the Racine County Sheriff's Department was called.

While Wetter and Hakomaki sit in jail awaiting trial, the boy has been placed with relatives, Nieskes said. He would not say who. But because Fry and Wetter shared joint custody of their son, he would automatically be placed with the other parent.

Nieskes also said Fry's residence situation has changed since the original placement order, but didn't say how.

Posted by Nealus at August 5, 2004 02:28 PM

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