Horse molester charged in Brown County

GREEN BAY — A Green Bay man with a history of molesting horses will be charged next week in Brown County with a similar offense and may face additional charges in Manitowoc County.

Sterling Rachwal, 53, appeared Wednesday in Brown County Circuit Court via teleconference from the Brown County Jail for a probable cause hearing, designed to show prosecutors have enough evidence to justify holding him until they can write up formal charges.

Deputy District Attorney Dana Johnson said Brown County sheriff’s investigators became involved in the investigation after the owner of a horse-boarding stable in the town of Eaton reported one of the horses had been molested.

The owner told investigators was heading out to his barn on State 29 on the evening of Feb. 17 when he saw a man run out of a stall and flee the barn, Johnson said. The owner reported hearing a vehicle drive off. He found one of the horses harnessed and tied, and could tell it had been assaulted, Johnson said.

Investigation eventually led to Rachwal, who claimed he was at a gas station, store and bar during the time period in question, Johnson said. However, video surveillance from those businesses did not corroborate Rachwal’s claims, Johnson said.

A search of Rachwal’s phone indicated it had been shut off right around the time of the molestation, Johnson said. The phone also showed Rachwal had shown deep interest in news reports about the horse molestation case in the days following.

Using another warrant, investigators were able to sneak a tracking device onto Rachwal’s Explorer, which allowed them to discover that, even during their investigation, Rachwal was regularly driving to a horse barn in Maribel, just across the Manitowoc County Line. That barn owner allowed investigators to install cameras in the barn, and they recorded Rachwal sneaking in and molesting at least one horse, Johnson said.

Rachwal was convicted of animal mistreatment in several incidents around the state in the 1980s and faced similar charges in the 1990s but was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. One of those cases was charged as a felony because the horse died from the mistreatment, Johnson said.

Rachwal’s most recent run-in with the law was a 2010 conviction for disorderly conduct in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court, a charge brought about after he was caught in a barn, Johnson said. He was returned to Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison until his release in 2015.

Johnson said Rachwal likely will be charged with misdemeanor animal mistreatment, because the horse had only minor injuries. He could also face disorderly conduct and possibly obstructing charges, Johnson said.

Brown County investigators handled the Manitowoc County case, but that likely would have to be charged in Manitowoc County, though it could eventually be consolidated with Brown County’s case, Johnson said.

Court Commissioner Paul Burke set bond at $5,000 and ordered Rachwal to appear in court May 10 for formal charging.

psrubas@pressgazettemedia.com and follow him on Twitter@PGpaulsrubas