Former Wisconsin Student Sentenced to 3 Years for Assaults

Associated Press
June 21, 2018

https://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Former-UW-student-sentenced-to-3-years-for-13014712.php

Former UW-Madison student Alec Cook reacts to comments made by Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke during his sentencing hearing at the Dane County Courthouse in Madison, Wis., Thursday, June 21, 2018. Cook ... more

A judge on Thursday sentenced a former University of Wisconsin-Madison student to three years in prison for sexually assaulting three female students and choking or stalking two others.

Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke also sentenced Alec Cook, 22, of Minnesota to eight years of extended supervision once he's released from prison. Cook pleaded guilty to the charges in February.

Prosecutors were seeking 19 years behind bars, while defense attorneys sought probation with the possibility of jail time.

Ehlke said he had to give Cook credit for having no criminal record, no bail violations and sparing the victims a trial. The judge said he hoped that the end of criminal proceedings against Cook would "give closure" to the victims, the Wisconsin State Journal reported .

In court, Cook tearfully apologized to the women, telling them that what happened was not their fault.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong," Cook said. "You told the truth and everyone should believe you. This is my fault. You didn't deserve this. And neither did your families. To them, too, I'm so sorry."

One victim said in her impact statement, "Part of me died in order to survive that night with him and that part of me will never grow back," WKOW-TV reported .

Cook, a former UW-Madison business student, was initially charged with more than 20 crimes against nearly a dozen women, including misdemeanor disorderly conduct and felony sexual assault for incidents between September 2014 and October 2016.

He pleaded guilty in February to three counts of third-degree sexual assault. He also pleaded guilty to strangulation and stalking charges. After reaching the plea deal, the remaining charges were dismissed, but the judge was allowed to consider them in sentencing Cook.

Cook was expelled from UW-Madison in June 2017.

The state Department of Justice handled the prosecution. Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel said in a statement that he was disappointed Cook got only three years and he deserved a much longer sentence.

"At DOJ, we hope that the fact that Alec Cook stands convicted as a felony sex offender and is on his way to prison will give survivors faith that there are people in the criminal justice system who stand ready to fight for justice for them," Schimel said.

Asked if the agency would appeal the sentence, DOJ spokesman Johnny Koremenos said only defendants can challenge their sentences.