A serial child rapist and registered sex offender released in a discretionary parole by Tony Evers’ appointee has been arrested and charged with possessing child pornography.
The parolee is Patrick S. Appel.
According to the Department of Corrections’ database, Appel, 53, is already back behind bars at Stanley Correctional Institution.
DOC says that Appel was paroled on Sept. 23, 2020, and he was “returned from parole” on Aug. 29, 2022.
What was Appel’s original offense? In a 1997 case, he was convicted of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and a count of bail jumping. The Park Falls man received 40 years in state prison for the rape counts and 5 years for the bail jumping offense.
According to DOC, his mandatory release date was not until 2034. Thus, the parole was discretionary. Tony Evers’ two-time appointee John Tate authorized Appel’s release, and Tony Evers reappointed Tate after the parole.
In 1996, Appel was also convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child. He got 20 years in prison for that crime.
Fast forward. Appel is released on parole. What did he do?
He was charged with FIVE counts of possession of child pornography. A bench warrant was issued for Appel.
That news comes on the heels of two other cases in which violent killers and rapists have already re-offended. Floyd Marlow was arrested Thursday in Washington County after he allegedly drove erratically on I-45 while driving drunk with a loaded illegal gun. He is a convicted killer released in a discretionary parole by Evers’ appointee, John Tate. Kenneth Moffett was recently arrested and charged with false imprisonment and strangulation after being freed on discretionary parole for sexual assault.
At least 16 paroled killers and attempted killers have either committed new crimes or violated terms of parole and ended up on Corrections holds.
Evers’ appointee released more than 300 killers and more than 47 child rapists in discretionary paroles. More killers and attempted killers were freed on parole in 3.5 years under Evers than in 8 years under Scott Walker.
