Judge grants defense’s motion for mistrial in City of Pewaukee priest case

By Nikki Brahm
GMToday.com
March 13, 2020

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The defense’s motion for a mistrial was granted by Circuit Court Judge Michael Maxwell Friday morning due to the disclosure that the mother of the accuser is an undocumented resident in the case of a City of Pewaukee priest accused of touching a teen girl inappropriately.

The trial of Rev. Charles Hanel will now be postponed; a status conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 22.

Hanel, 62, was charged in 2018 with second-degree sexual assault of a child after a girl, then 13, reported he touched her breast in a confessional at Queen of Apostles Church.

Maxwell said the testimony of the accuser’s mother raised several issues that go directly to the heart of the credibility of the witness, specifically; the court was troubled by her presentation and demeanor.