Kratz, 50, on Wednesday acknowledged sending 30 text messages, which had been obtained by The Associated Press, to the 26-year-old woman while he was the prosecutor on her case last October. He asked in one whether she's "the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA." In others he called her "a hot, young nymph" and tried to spark a relationship.
After three days of what she called sexual harassment, Stephanie Van Groll reported the messages to police last year. She said she felt pressure to start a relationship with Kratz or worried he would drop the charges against her ex-boyfriend or retaliate against her in another way.
The complaint was referred to the Wisconsin Department of Justice. E-mail exchanges between Justice officials and Kratz, obtained by the AP through the open records law, show Kratz repeatedly downplayed the nature of the messages and sought to keep them from the public.
Kratz said they were "a series of respectful messages" that were not sexual at all.
Kevin Potter, administrator of DOJ's division of legal services, rejected the claim and said they could be construed as sexual harassment.
"Telling her several times she is 'hot' or referring to her as 'tall, young hot nymph' certainly has sexual overtones as do your comments that 'You are beautiful and would make a great young partner one day' or 'I would want you to be so hot and treat me so well that you'd be THE woman! R U that good?"' he wrote to Kratz.
The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence on Thursday called Kratz's behavior "absolutely unacceptable" and said he had compromised his ability to do his job. Other victims might not step forward for fear of how they'll be treated by his office, the group said.
"His actions were more than just a lapse in judgment," spokesman Tony Gibart said. "They in fact do have far-reaching implications for victim safety and public safety."
The state Office of Lawyer Regulation concluded in March that Kratz's behavior was inappropriate but did not amount to misconduct, a finding blasted Thursday on media outlets across the state. The office's director, Keith Sellen, said questions were appropriate but he could not comment under rules that require investigations to stay confidential.
Kratz, a Republican, has been the top local prosecutor in Chilton, in rural eastern Wisconsin, since 1992. Known for prosecuting a high-profile slaying of a photographer in 2007, he said Wednesday he intends to run for re-election in November 2012.
In the e-mails, Potter told Kratz the texts could have jeopardized the prosecution of Shannon Konitzer on a felony strangulation charge. Potter said Van Groll could have refused to cooperate or the messages could have become evidence used to question her motives and credibility.
Potter told Kratz he could have been seen by Van Groll as going easy on Konitzer if he reached a plea bargain because she rejected his overtures, or that he wanted the case to end quickly so they could start a relationship. If he would have prosecuted Konitzer fully, that could have been seen as a way to ingratiate himself with Van Groll, Potter wrote.
Kratz stepped aside from the prosecution, and an assistant attorney general won a conviction earlier this year.
The e-mails show Kratz at first resisted resigning as chairman of the Wisconsin Crime Victims' Rights Board, which he had helped create and led since 1998, or reporting his conduct to the Office of Lawyer Regulation.
Potter told Kratz that Justice officials had concluded his ability to serve as chairman of the board, which has the power to reprimand public officials who mistreat crime victims, had been compromised.
If he did not step down, Potter said Justice officials would be obligated to share details of the case with the Wisconsin District Attorneys' Association. Kratz was the association's designee on the board.
"As I'm sure you can appreciate, this could be potentially embarrassing for the (association) if it became public that its member on the Board had acted in a manner inconsistent with the Board's mission," Potter wrote.
Kratz complained he was being treated unfairly after 25 years as a prosecutor and having helped the department in the past. "Remind me again how my 'play nice with DOJ attitude' helped me?" he wrote in one message.
In another, he noted he was helping Justice defend the "mammoth prosecution" of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey in the 2005 slaying of photographer Teresa Halbach. Both have filed appeals in the high-profile case arguing they were wrongly convicted.
"I want to hear you to ask me to step aside from those duties as well," he said.
After the pressure from the Justice department, Kratz ultimately stepped down from the board and reported himself to regulation office in December. He had proposed settling the matter with Justice officials by stepping down from the board but having them agree not to refer the matter to legal regulators or to initiate "public disclosure."
