Posted October 13, 2007

Brown County Republican Party chair faces sex charges

Fleischman's attorney denies allegations

By anelesen [at] greenbaypressgazette [dot] com
anelesen [at] greenbaypressgazette [dot] com

The chairman of the Republican Party in Brown County faces criminal charges for allegedly fondling a 16-year-old Ethan House runaway and providing the boy with beer and marijuana late last year.

Donald Fleischman, 37, of Allouez, was charged last month with two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child and a single charge of exposing himself to a child.

He was summoned to Brown County court for his initial appearance on Sept. 28. He is free having posted a signature bond as his promise to return to court.

Fleischman's lawyer, Jeff Jazgar, said he plans to confront the charges at the preliminary hearing set for Oct. 29. He declined to discuss specifics of the allegations.

"My client is innocent of the charges," Jazgar said Friday. "Our plan is to get some witnesses to testify and present enough information to dismiss the case.

Efforts to reach Fleischman were unsuccessful Friday.

Green Bay police went to Fleischman's Goodell Street home Nov. 19, 2006, looking for two runaways from Ethan House, a juvenile facility on nearby Emilie Street, according to the criminal complaint filed Sept. 7.

Fleischman opened the door and allowed officers inside where they found a 16-year-old boy hiding on the floor of a walk-in closet wearing only underwear and a T-shirt, the complaint said.

Officers found a black, purple and blue-swirled glass pipe in the living room, which tested positive for marijuana residue, the complaint said.

Police returned to Fleischman's home on Dec. 8, 2006, and found the boy there again. He had been a runaway from Ethan House for eight days.

The teen, now 17, told authorities Fleischman took him to a hotel in Appleton during that time and then to a cabin near Florence for several days before returning to Fleischman's Allouez home. The boy said Fleischman provided him with beer and marijuana, the complaint said.

The boy told police that when he would go to bed, Fleischman would fondle him and that on one occasion he awoke to find Fleischman at the foot of his bed masturbating.

Detectives obtained the boy's drug tests from the days around the time he spent with Fleischman, and three samples from late November and early December tested positive for marijuana.

Fleischman has resigned his post with the Brown County Republicans, said Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

Efforts to confirm Fleischman's resignation with local leadership were unsuccessful Friday.

If convicted on both felonies and all three misdemeanors, Fleischman faces 52 years in prison.