Assault, weapons charge, intimidation
A Clintonville man faces felony charges stemming from three separate incidents over the past 15 months.
Steven M. Harris, 39, is charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child and exposing genitals to a child.
Waupaca County prosecutors charged him with operating a firearm while intoxicated, disorderly conduct and felony bail jumping.
Harris was charged with felony intimidation of a witness and felony bail jumping on Oct. 3.
Felony sex crime charges
On June 23, 2022, Capt. Dennis Schroeder with the Clintonville Police Department interviewed a 13-year-old girl who accused Harris of having sex with her at his home while she was spending the night.
Harris was subsequently arrested and charged on June 27, 2022.
He was released from custody after posting $20,000 cash bond.
Intoxicated possession of firearm
On Aug. 28, 2023, Clintonville police responded to a disturbance complaint in the 100 block of Roberts Street.
According to the criminal complaint, neighbors complained that Harris was inside his residence, yelling at his daughter and his friend for nearly an hour. He was allegedly so loud that numerous neighbors could hear him.
When officers arrived, Harris answered the door holding a .22-caliber rifle. Police determined he was intoxicated.
Because his friend had left the house, Harris was home alone with his daughter, which violated a condition of his bond that he have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.
Police arrested Harris and transported him to the county jail.
Harris was released from custody on $2,000 signature bond.
Witness intimidation
On Sept. 14, a witness in the second felony case against Harris met with Clintonville Police Officer Anthony Arrieta and said he believed Harris was trying to intimidate him.
According to the criminal complaint, the witness said he had no contact with Harris since July 30 when police arrested Harris for the incident involving the gun. That same day, Harris allegedly sent a text message to the witness, saying “hope u’re happy with yourself you’ve been reported for hate crimes against an individual.”
The witness told Arrieta that he also had blocked Harris on his phone and social media accounts.
On Sept. 12, the witness received a friend request on Facebook from Harris’ mother, the complaint says.
The witness also reported that Harris stopped his vehicle in front of the his home several times on Sept. 13 and took photos with his cellphone.
On Sept. 15, the witness visited the Clintonville police station because county deputies had served him with a restraining order after Harris filed an injunction against him.
On Sept. 21, Waupaca County Judge Vicki Clussman denied Harris’ petition for an injunction because it did not meet the burden of proof.
On the same day, she dismissed the witnesses’ request for a restraining order at his request.
Harris is scheduled to appear in court on these recent charges on Oct. 24.