July 6, 2020 at 5:10 p.m.
Minocqua man draws 25 years in prison for child sexual assault
Minocqua man draws 25 years in prison for child sexual assault
An Oneida County jury convicted Brandon Darnick on Dec. 4, 2019, following a three-day trial. The sentencing hearing was originally scheduled for March 23 but was rescheduled to April 17 after the Wisconsin Supreme Court put all in-person hearings on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Evidence against Darnick included rape kit swabs taken from a 2-year-old child on Dec. 13, 2013. The rape kit was tested in 2018 as part of a Department of Justice effort to clear the backlog of kits at the state crime lab.
Darnick was charged Nov. 30, 2018, after a DNA match was made between a sample he gave in 2013 and the one collected from the toddler.
The sentencing hearing began with the victim's mother reading from a prepared statement.
"What you did to my son... the trauma you have caused can never be undone or a unknown," she said. "We won't run anymore, we won't hide anymore. Karma will place you exactly where you were meant to be. There is no breath I will ever have worth wasting on words for you again."
Assistant attorney general Noel Lawrence suggested Oneida County Circuit Judge Patrick O'Melia sentence Darnick to 25 to 35 years in prison as recommended in the pre-sentence investigation report. Defense attorney Brent Debord recommended 5 to 8 years in prison followed by 10 to 15 years in extended supervision.
Of the factors he must weigh in arriving at a sentencing decision, O'Melia said the gravity of the offense was the most relevant in this case because the victim was a vulnerable child who couldn't comprehend what was happening or if it were even wrong.
"He may not remember what happened, I hope. But one day he will know what happened," O'Melia said, adding that the child's mother will remember the day of the incident, as well as the prolonged wait for Darnick to be charged, tried and convicted.
"She had to take the child to the hospital to be examined. So she will remember that day forever," O'Melia said. "And I'm sure that she's got feelings of anger and guilt, probably for trusting (the child) to your care. And she should not feel that, she had no clue that he or anyone else was capable of that. It's hard to fathom."
O'Melia said the woman will also one day have to "have that awkward conversation with (victim), and not about the typical birds and bees, which is awkward enough."
"This is going to be a sit-down, crying discussion, trying to fathom or put together why this happened to him at age 2," the judge said.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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