Care facility operator sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting disabled resident

Clarence Mielke

As he faced a judge for sentencing Tuesday, Clarence “Skip” Mielke continued to maintain that he was innocent of charges that he sexually assaulted a disabled woman who lived in the care facility he and his wife operated.

Mielke, 74, was convicted by a jury in March of second-degree sexual assault of a mentally ill victim and second-degree sexual assault by an employee of a residential facility. He was found not guilty by the same jury of four similar charges involving the same victim.

While he said he had empathy for the woman who testified at trial that he assaulted her, Mielke continued to deny he had committed any crime.

“I apologize to no one for something I did not do. I never did, nor would I ever do, anything to hurt” the woman, he said Tuesday.

The victim in the case was a resident of Carey Manor, the residential care facility Mielke’s wife owned and operated in Pleasant Prairie. Mielke and his wife lived in an apartment inside the facility, and he acted as the caretaker and financial officer for the business. The woman he was convicted of assaulting has Huntington’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder

Mielke, who retired as a captain with the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department, maintained Tuesday that his case received undo attention because of his involvement with law enforcement.

He asked rhetorically whether his case would have received any media attention “if I was average Joe Citizen,” then answered, “I doubt it.”

Judge Chad Kerkman said it was “unfortunate that you are not remorseful” and said that it lends credence to the victim’s testimony that Mielke had told her, “I do what I want” when she had told him she did not want his sexual attention.

Kerkman pointed out that at trial, not only did the victim testify that she had been assaulted, but Mielke’s DNA was found inside the woman’s bra and two employees of Carey Manor testified they had observed what they believed was Mielke forcing the woman to perform oral sex. Those two women reported that incident to Mielke’s wife, and then to police, bringing on the investigation that led to the charges against him.

“The jury pretty much made a finding that you lied,” Kerkman said.

Kerkman sentenced Mielke to five years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision, along with being listed on the sex offender registry for the rest of his life. He will receive credit for 119 days spent in jail since his conviction.

The state had asked for a 15-year prison sentence, saying he took advantage of a disabled woman who is dying of a degenerative disease and who was entrusted to the care of Mielke and his wife.

“That’s pretty reprehensible,” prosecutor Kevin Shomin said. “That’s preying on the vulnerable.”

Defense attorney Frank Parise had argued against a prison sentence, saying that Mielke is in poor health.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the state’s recommendation here is a death sentence,” Parise said.

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Care facility operator sentenced to five years in prison for assaulting disabled resident