Racine - Agents of the Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation arrested Racine Mayor Gary Becker at Brookfield Square Mall Tuesday and booked him into the Kenosha County Jail while seeking several charges including child enticement, according to the state attorney general's office. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a news release this afternoon that the department was seeking charges against Becker of possession of child pornography, exposing a child to harmful materials, attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and misconduct in public office.
Becker is being held in the Kenosha County Jail in lieu of $165,000 bail. He is scheduled to make an initial appearance in Racine County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Racine County District Attorney Michael Nieskes said today that he needs more reports from investigators before deciding whether to file charges. Any filing could be done today or, more likely, Thursday morning, he said. Becker, a Racine native elected in April 2003 as mayor and re-elected in 2007, is a former two-term alderman. As mayor, he has been a proponent of regional solutions to problems in southeastern Wisconsin.
At a news conference Wednesday morning at Racine City Hall, City Administrator Ben Hughes said Ald. David Maack, president of the Racine Common Council, will serve as mayor in Becker's place, and day-to-day operations will continue as usual under the direction of the city administrator's office. Hughes assured Racine residents that the city would continue to run smoothly and that all city services would continue to be delivered without interruption.
