The Milwaukee Post

4 • Milwaukee County Post • March 24, 2017 Board approves Operation Impact's expansion into 14th Aldermanic District MILWAUKEE — Now in its tenth year of providing funds for crime-deterring surveil- lance cameras, alley lighting and police patrols, the near South Side's Operation Impact will be expanding its services into the 14th Aldermanic District, including parts of Bay View. Operation Impact founder Alderman Bob Donovan and 14th District Alderman Tony Zielinski said the expansion will be Operation Impact's first foray outside of the Second Police District on the near South Side, and its first footprint in the Sixth Police District further to the south. The Operation Impact board approved the expansion during a meet- ing last week. "Operation Impact has demonstrated that by leveraging private resources to the pub- lic's benefit, you can foster a profound improvement in public safety," Zielinski said in a release. "I am very excited and grateful that we will be able to offer the added security of surveillance cameras to parts of my district." Alderman Donovan said that Operation Impact will work together with city leaders and the community to determine where resources can best be utilized. WEEK IN REVIEW STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST West Allis man gets prison after online sex sting WAUKESHA — A West Allis man has been sent to prison after he tried to set up a sex- ual encounter with a Waukesha police detective posing as an underage girl online. Ryan Digman, 35, pleaded guilty to using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and was sentenced by Judge Michael Maxwell to serve five years in prison and three more on extended supervision. He also must register as a sex offender for 15 years. A criminal complaint said a Waukesha detective responded to an online ad posted by Digman seeking a woman to have sex with. The detective — posing as a 15-year-old girl — began exchanging messages with Digman over a social media app. The defendant allegedly made several sexually explicit statements toward the "girl." The two eventually set up a time and place to meet at the "girl's" apartment complex in Waukesha. Digman initially said he was going to turn the girl over to her leasing manager at the apartment and tell them about her messaging older men, but later told investigators this had been a lie and he was aware that the girl was underage, according to the complaint. Nearly 98 percent of state districts now provide 4K WAUKESHA — With the addition of four public school districts offering 4-year-old kindergarten to children and their families for the 2016-17 school year, 97.6 percent of Wisconsin districts provide universal early childhood education, according to a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction release. The four new districts include Swallow, a K4-8 feeder school to Arrowhead High School, Cedarburg, Herman-Neosho-Rubicon and West Bend. The Swallow, West Bend and Cedarburg school districts received start-up grants that provided $3,000 per student in the first year of a new 4K program and $1,500 per student in the second year to offset the lag of when students are fully counted for revenue limit purposes. For the 2016-17 school year, 401 public school districts are offering 4K to 48,764 stu- dents. "Four-year-old kindergarten programs continue to grow in Wisconsin," said state Superintendent Tony Evers in a release. "Young children in these programs learn important social skills and expand their academic knowledge through the play-based learning that is foundational to quality 4K." Firefighter pleads not guilty in child porn case MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee firefighter who was arrested on the job in a child pornography investigation has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge in the case. Robert Rutley entered the plea to a count of possession of child pornography Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He remains in custody. A criminal complaint said investigators in the Milwaukee FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force arrested Rutley after finding him on the job at the Milwaukee Fire Department station at 3529 S. 84th St. Feb. 10. There, they found in his possession a cellphone and tablet computer, the latter of which contained thousands of files of suspected child pornography, the complaint said. They included images of children in sexually suggestive poses, the complaint said. Rutley told investigators he'd had an interest in child porn since 2000 or 2001, focusing on children older than 10, and began downloading it at work after his wife caught him doing so at home, the complaint said. Mega Millions winning ticket purchased in Cudahy CUDAHY — Anthony Burger of Oak Creek and Catherine Klemowits of El Lago, Texas won $1 million prize from the Nov. 15 Mega Millions drawing, the Wisconsin Lottery announced this week. The winning ticket was purchased at Pick 'n Save at 5851 S. Packard Ave. in Cudahy. Their winning Mega Millions numbers were 9, 17, 23, 57, and 71 with a Mega Ball of 6. The Megaplier number was 3. The winner matched five out of five numbers, but not the Mega Ball. Rehabilitated felons could buy city-owned property MILWAUKEE — Convicted felons who have paid their debts to society will be allowed to purchase city-owned, tax-foreclosed property from the city of Milwaukee, under leg- islation passed by the Common Council. Alderman Khalif J. Rainey, the lead sponsor of the measure, said the intent is to ensure that equal opportunities for housing and employment are available to all Milwaukeeans, regardless of their background. Previously, the city code of ordinances allowed the Department of City Development to consider a buyer's felony record in determining whether to allow a sale. "Being able to buy a foreclosed property from the city is an opportunity, not only to obtain affordable housing, but also to realize economic benefits and employment by rehabbing and selling these homes," Rainey said. "In a city that's home to one of the country's most incarcerated ZIP codes, we can ill afford to discriminate against people who made mistakes when they were younger, but now seek a better way of life." Rainey said that the Department of City Development will continue to screen poten- tial buyers of city-owned foreclosed properties, as it always has. Potential buyers are checked to ensure they have the financial means to acquire a home and the capacity to achieve and maintain compliance with the city building code as well as financial histo- ry and judgments. Submitted photo Hometown Heroes MADISON – State Reps. JoCasta Zamarripa, left, and Josh Zepnick, right, pose with officer Jose Acevedo, second from left, and Detective Alexander Ayala. The off-duty Milwaukee Police Department members saved a 6-year-old boy with autism in the Milwaukee River after he became separated from his family while attending a Milwaukee Brewers game last summer, and were recently recognized as Hometown Heroes.

• Cover