July 31, 2020 Update to the following as of 1:30pm
Mitchell was sentenced this afternoon in Juneau County Circuit Court (Wisconsin)
According to online records, the sentences on the charges are consecutive and concurrent -
Steve Mitchell's sentencing per online records:
COURT: Ct.1-10yr prison - 5yrs Init Conf/5yrs Ext Supv/Sex offender registry/No contact with any minors except as approved by agent/$565.60/$500.00 surcharge.
Restitution hearing scheduled for Aug
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Steve Mitchell (DOB 10-03-1965) Juneau County (WI) Sheriff's Office Photo |
Back in 2017 I broke the story that Steve Mitchell, a funeral director in Wonewoc Wisconsin was charged with multiple counts of possession of child pornography. Mitchell wasn't 'just' a funeral home director, he was a large presence in the community. At the time I was working at a newspaper in rural Wisconsin. We posted the article to our social media and it took off like a wildfire.
The days and weeks to follow some people in his community made it well known what they thought of me. I even had an official walk into my office and scream at me, as he grabbed a newspaper and threatened to never purchase another one again. I was told that is was "fake news" and the media is trash.
I saw similar comments start to be spread and showing up on social media. And, yes, of course it hurt, it always did. I worked hard at my job. I stayed as neutral as humanely possible when writing an article of the paper - and when I was editor, I never wrote a weekly editorial column, a choice I made. I always felt that my job was to present facts, not opinion.
I can only surmise that Mitchell, or those close to him, organized a little boycott of the paper because suddenly some advertisers pulled ads or wouldn't renew the ones they had. I could have fought back and informed the community that the funeral home was severely in debt to the paper for the obituaries they placed. Our fees for obits were extremely reasonable - cost was determined by the column inch - most obits ended up costing under $70, yet he racked up a past due well over $1000 which I had to handle when I became editor. I still have all those emails requesting payments and placing them on notice that any future obits needed to be prepaid before publication - but, I kept my mouth shut to the public about that, only those at the paper knew. I dealt with the glares, the snide remarks and more. When the funeral home sold, sometime later, we finally received payment clearing the account for obits that were paid by families at the time arrangements were made to bury their loved ones.
In the State's case against him he was charged with three counts for images found on the computer at the funeral home. The criminal complaint housed detailed information on how those photos were found and what they depicted, young children - very disturbing and graphic depictions. I fought the urge to vomit while writing the article.
When a case is filed with the courts much of the information media attains on it is found in the criminal complaints, which are public information, anyone can view them. I was even accused of making up what was in the criminal complaint against him -after all...we were "fake news" according to his supporters, even though days after we reported, other media outlets picked up on the story.
The rumors being spread from that side of the county did not stop me. I made sure we continued to follow the story. Possession of child pornography, often is viewed by some as a victimless crime -however, it is anything but that. It is the fuel to feeding the nightmare of child sexual assault and the sex trafficking of children. Those children being photographed are being mentally and physically tortured - their futures forever changed as now they must spend a lifetime of healing, if they ever get on that path. If they don't, they face a lifetime of holding on to shame, numbing themselves with drugs and alcohol and looking for love under every rock they can find. To me, the production and distribution of child porn- anything that contributes to a child being sexually abused is among the most heinous crimes there are.
Fast forward some months - the possession case was making it's way, slowly, through the justice system. It was April of 2018 and one morning I was doing what I always did, checking to see what criminal cases had been filed the day before - and that is when I saw it, Mitchell had another open case against him. This time it was multiple count of theft in a business setting - ---the business, the funeral home. He had been accused of stealing monies from pre-paid funerals. I thought to myself "here we go, more crap to our way.." I was already pushed for time on a few other things so I handed off the story to a freelance reporter we had working with us.
In her article she wrote: "Steve Mitchell, 52, has been charged with a 12 count criminal complaint alleging theft by the defrauding of individuals who had pre-arranged their funerals. The complaint identifies victims who had entrusted Mitchell to refund a few hundred dollars following a loved ones funeral, to those whose pre-paid funeral funds cannot be accounted for, all totaling $78,982.00."
To my surprise, the community was outraged - this time, against Mitchell. I sat in bewilderment in trying to understand how we were raked over the coals for reporting on the child porn charges, but cheered about the theft charges. It made me sick. The stealing of money was the final straw over possession of child porn.
I had done quite a few articles on the possession of child porn and for the most part they were on average every day people, not high profile in their community (with the exception of 2 or 3.) It seemed like for those people, the community spoke out for the victims, but for the high profile, they ran as helpers to protect them.
On a national level we see that play out all the time. When politicians or actors are accused of a sexual assault of any kind, there's denial from the masses, especially if they are a politician in the same party as those screaming "fake news, " and the victims are often re-victimized with labels of "money hungry bitches." Never do I see the masses scream that for any average, non-high-profile defendant.
There's no other way to say it but to point how it is a sad reflection on our society. It is no wonder when the rich and powerful commit their crimes they do so with confidence that they will get away with it and no one will believe the victim. It is the ultimate weapon for their abusers - and it keeps the injured silent, isolated with pain, while allowing the abuser to continue on - creating more victims.
How do we put a halt to idol worship so ingrained in society that they are blinded to reality? If you figure out the answer, please let me know.
I am no longer in Wisconsin, I now live in Memphis. A few days ago my gut instinct screamed out at me to check on those cases - so I did. Mitchell is now awaiting sentencing which a hearing is scheduled for later this month. He took a plea deal in both. According to online court records he pled no contest to three felony counts in the theft case. Pleading no contest means the court will find them guilty. As for the possession of child porn, he pled no contest to one charge.
Do I feel vindicated, a little -but writing this out really isn't for me - it is for the victims - including those unknown children in those photos. In a way, it is for every child who has suffered such a fate - their voices need to be heard, their stories told and hopefully society will one day wake-up to the fact sexual assault is real, child sexual assault is a plague on our world, those who document it in photos and video are scum, those who view it for their pleasure keeps the wheel turning, and those who blindly help them - are no better.
While the child victims in the those photos were unknown to Mitchell - the sentiment of this song, remains.
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