Sentence,

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“The defendant presented a Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde type scenario. Only she saw this other side of the defendant. The family only saw the positive side. So when the truth finally comes out, the family takes sides. It doesn’t stop after the pleas or after the jury found him guilty. Some family members continue to believe and support the defendant.”

Anderson said that even after the 25-year-old became an adult, she was continually pestered by Hattamer, saying he would give her money if she sent inappropriate pictures. Anderson read a series of text messages with the defendant repeatedly asking for pictures despite being denied several times.

“She finally had enough and came to Rusk County and made a report,” said Anderson.

One of the factors the judge had to consider when handing down the sentence was protection of the public.

“When we talk about protection of the public, ‘public’ here does not just mean the entire community; it means (the 25-yearold),” said Anderson. “She has a right to peace and to not have to worry. When she goes to a family gathering, she will not have to worry about him being there. And, the defendant’s own daughter needs protection as well.”

Anderson said the assessment completed on Hattamer during the pre-sentence investigation provided a percentage risk to re-offend, actuarily speaking, but did not give the whole picture because it did not address this specific person.

“I posit he’s a great risk,” said Anderson, saying she had reports from two other victims.

“This course of conduct has become a pattern for this defendant.”

Defense Attorney Jessica Fehrenbach spoke on Hattamer’s behalf, asking for eight years of prison time.

“This is one of those cases where it’s difficult when it comes to sentencing, because the defendant has maintained his innocence throughout… The PSI (pre-sentence investigation) writer and the state made mention of a lack of remorse, but he’s only been convicted for a few months. From a legal standpoint, it would not make sense for him to change his stance after going through the trial, right before being sentenced,” said Fehrenbach.

She also said that the psychological assessments completed on Hattamer refl ected a low risk to re-offend. “As much as the state wants to downplay the assessments, the risk of recidivism is not high. And these assessments are the standards used by county courts across the state. He has a low risk to reoffend, 2.7 percent to 3.7 percent according to the assessment tools used.”

She added that that percentage was the likelihood to re-offend within the first five years out of prison, with no treatment, but that Hattamer will receive treatment. She also addressed the other alleged victims that the state mentioned.

“They are just allegations. There are no convictions and no other charges against him,” she said.

Since Hattamer has not been charged for those, she said it would not be right for the judge to consider those in his sentencing.

Fehrenbach also addressed factors that have contributed to Hattamer’s overall character.

“He has clearly had a traumatic life. His family is significantly dysfunctional. He has received no treatment whatsoever in his community. In addition, he successfully completed supervision before. He has shown absolute willingness to do whatever the court asked of him.”

She said that in the Rusk County Jail, Hattamer took advantage of as many programs as he could.

“He recently transferred to Dodge County, which as we all know Dodge is severely understaffed. The only thing he was able to sign up for there was church two times a week. But he signed up for that,” said Fehrenbach.

“He has taken care of a significant other and children. He has been able to function in the community for a long time and has a kind and caring side,” she added.

She also noted that Hattamer earned his high school equivalent diploma and completed three classes while incarcerated, and has not had any behavioral issues.

Hattamer also had a chance to speak. “I’ve been working with the courts for five years. I’ve always done what the courts asked. I’ve always honored my bond. When I first heard of this, I called the sheriff’s office and turned myself in,” he said.

“I talked with a psychologist about the loss of my mom and the loss of my sister. In addition to treatment, I hope to be eligible for work release so I can pay child support,” he continued.

He said he would hate to see his family suffer due to not having enough money to support themselves.

He also had 11 people write letters of character for him, which the judge read before pronouncing the sentence.

“Everything I have is in Loyal. The future of my fiancé, four children and other family members is at stake — they mean everything to me,” said Hattamer.

“It was really good talking to the psychologist. I would like to continue to see them and work through my emotions. I would like just one chance to show I am a good person and a loving, caring fiancé and father.”

Decision Daniel Diehn, Jackson County Circuit Court judge assigned to this case, said that although he was only ruling on two charges, he had to consider the “course of conduct that is the broader picture” — that is, multiple locations over an extended period of time.

“I find it very troubling the length of time this went on, the age she was when it started and the fact that it continued into adulthood,” said Diehn.

“I understand the the legal position you’re in,” he told Hattamer. “It would be inconsistent if you’ve denied the charges all this time to come forward and apologize today. So from a strictly legal standpoint, it makes sense. If you want to maintain you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s your right to do that.”

But, Diehn said, what weighed more heavily on him was Hattamer’s apparent lack of empathy.

“Even if for discussion purposes your story is true, it was completely lacking any empathy or show of care for the young lady. You would have been able to put it into words such as, ‘Hey, I didn’t do it, but I feel bad that she’s been so manipulated as to come up with this elaborate story.’ But I didn’t get any of that. The only sense I got from you was self-focused, basically, ‘Hey, I’m losing everything. I’m losing my toys. I wanna work.’… In your statements, I’ve seen a lot of blaming the system, blaming your lawyer or others for all of this. But the effects are your responsibility.”

Diehn also gave the disclaimer before giving the sentence that “it’s impossible to quantify the amount of damage these offenses have had on the family.”

With those disclaimers, Diehn said he considered three factors in particular when making his decision: protection of the community, punishment of the defendant and the rehabilitation of the defendant.

“When it comes to protection of the community, it could mean the population as a whole, or it could mean specific people such as other family members or even the victim,” he said. “As far as punishment, these are serious offenses and you need to be held accountable for your actions. And for rehabilitation, the primary reason the court is going to include that is, frankly, the best way to keep the people around you safe is for you to have education, treatment and programming so hopefully you don’t do this again.”

He said the positive factors Hattamer had going for him were his limited criminal history, the ability to maintain longterm relationships and employment, the fact that people were willing to write letters about his character and that he was of an age at which, actuarily, his likelihood of criminality decreases.

He felt the 14-year prison sentence was necessary to balance everything he had heard.

“My specific reasons are I believe that any shorter period would undermine the seriousness and gravity of the offenses. I’m also somewhat trying to reconcile it in proportionality with the other offenses. It’s more serious in that the victim was the youngest in age when it happened — that’s the basis for setting the conditions I did today.”

Conditions of Hattamer’s sentence include that he is to have no contact with the 25-year-old or her immediate family, including her mother, siblings, spouses or siblings of the mother or their residences. He is not to have any unsupervised contact with individuals under the age of 18 without prior agent approval and be accompanied by an approved adult sober chaperone. He also must maintain absolute sobriety from alcohol, illegal drugs or prescription medication not currently prescribed to him by a doctor.

He will be expected to complete all counseling, treatments, programming and evaluations as deemed appropriate by his agent.

The prosecution had also asked for restitution in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for psychological care and/or treatment for the 25-year-old. However, Fehrenbach said that the restitution had to be “equal to the cost of services requested,” so she argued that the amount couldn’t be set right away; first the state would need to determine how much was needed.

Diehn said he needed to look into the statute more and agreed to hold a restitution hearing within the next 60 days.