July 11, 2018 at 5:58 p.m.
$500,000 cash bail set for man accused of assaulting elderly woman
$500,000 cash bail set for man accused of assaulting elderly woman
By By Jamie Taylor and Heather Schaefer-
According to a criminal complaint filed July 10, Isaiah A.V. Moren, 103 Woodland Heights Manor, has been charged with first-degree reckless injury, first-degree sexual assault, strangulation and suffocation, aggravated battery and burglary of a building or dwelling, all felonies, as well misdemeanor criminal damage to property and misdemeanor bail jumping, all as a repeater.
The alleged assault was reported June 10 but police did not make their investigation public until June 15 when a press release was issued asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect.
In a follow-up press release July 3, sheriff's
captain Terri Hook announced DNA analysis had led to the identification of a suspect.
"On June 10, 2018, the Oneida County Sheriff's Office received a call reporting a sexual assault in the Town of Pelican," the release said. "Initial information was that a male subject entered into the residence and physically and sexually assaulted the elderly female occupant. Due to the circumstances, a physical description of the suspect was not available. Oneida County Sheriff's Detectives worked diligently to identify the suspect using DNA evidence. The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory processed the DNA samples and we identified the person who we believe committed this crime..."
Hook identified Moren as the suspect but the River News did not immediately release his name because he was not under arrest at that time and had not been charged with a crime. According to Hook, Moren has been in police custody since June 13 on a probation hold ordered by the Department of Corrections.
Formal charges were filed Tuesday and Moren made his initial appearance before Oneida County Circuit Judge Michael Bloom the same afternoon. Bail was set at $500,000 cash and an adjourned initial appearance was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday.
According to the complaint, the alleged victim's daughter told police she checks on her mother on a daily basis and when she arrived for a visit during the afternoon of June 10 she found her mother with bruising all over her body, including on her face, arms, torso and legs.
The daughter also observed a number of items in the residence were out of place, her mother's jewelry was laid out on her bed, and there was blood in the bedroom, the complaint states.
Investigators interviewed the alleged victim but she had difficulty communicating. According to the complaint, the woman has not been diagnosed with dementia or a related disorder, but she told police she suspects that she does suffer from such a condition.
According to the complaint, the woman was able to communicate that she had been in bed the night before when a man wearing a white shirt and white shorts came into her home and assaulted her. The man had "gotten on top of her" and "thrown her around," she said, adding that she ended up on the floor near the entrance to her room in a state of partial undress.
The woman said she was unsure what time the assault occurred and was unable to give investigators a clear description of the man, however she did submit to a medical examination that resulted in the subsequent DNA match.
According to the complaint, Moren was one of a number of people who were in the area of the woman's residence on the night in question who voluntarily gave police samples of their DNA.
In an interview with police after the lab results were received, Moren said he spent the evening of June 9 and early morning of June 10 drinking at various local establishments and "mudding" with friends. He said he stayed with a friend in a residence near where the alleged victim lives, but denied entering her residence or assaulting her.
When police continued to press him about the positive DNA match, he requested an attorney.
The complaint also indicates another suspect was investigated but later ruled out as the perpetrator.
In an interview following Tuesday's bond hearing, Hook said the investigation was complicated by the victim's age and the severity of her injuries. She said the sheriff's office informed the public about the investigation as soon as detectives had a clear sense of what they were investigating.
"The victim is elderly, she was substantially injured," Hook said. "We moved as fast as we could. The community (safety) is always most important to us."
Hook called the case "one of the most serious sexual assaults" she's seen in her 23 years as an investigator in Oneida County and noted that real-world DNA analysis takes time.
"Once we had DNA we were able to fit everything together and it made sense, that's how we ended up here today with Isaiah Moren being charged with this crime," she said, noting that she believes Moren targeted the woman because he believed her to be a vulnerable person.
Braden Bayne-Allison, sexual assault program coordinator at the Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, also spoke to the media following the hearing.
He said he would encourage the public to keep a close eye on relatives who may be "vulnerable" to the criminal element.
"It's important to be aware of personal safety to, in this case, check on your loved ones who might be a little vulnerable and do so often, make sure they're OK, make sure they're safe," he said.
If convicted of all seven charges, Moren could spend the rest of his life in prison.
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