By Alexa Shrake | TheStatehouseFile.com
For The Republic
STURGEON BAY, Wis.— Former Franklin College President Thomas Minar will face a jury trial in his ongoing legal battle against charges of child sex crimes after refusing a plea deal from prosecutors.
Wednesday was Minar’s first appearance since a status conference in January. He entered a plea of not guilty at a separate status conference in October.
A trial date has not been set yet. Judge David L. Weber said because of COVID-19, there has not been a trial in Door County since January 2020. Minar’s trial likely won’t happen until sometime next year because of the backlog of trials waiting to be heard.
Mark Maciolek, one of Minar’s lawyers, asked for a five-day trial to offer additional evidence. But Door County District Attorney Colleen Nordin said her team needs only two days based on the witnesses the state has.
Nordin argued that the case does not need that many days for a trial, noting from her perspective there’s enough evidence to support the prosecution. Nordin said the prosecution plans to show search history and 12 to 13 images of child pornography they claim were found on Minar’s phone.
“It’s not a complicated series of facts,” Nordin said.
Maciolek disagreed.
“It’s not that straightforward and simple,” Maciolek said.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
