Silly The Clown Charged with Sexual Assault
An attorney for professional clown Ronald E. Schroeder has objected to an "abnormally high number of charges" for sexual assault against his client, saying that he believes his client is being persecuted for allegations of past behavior.
Brookfield, Wisconsin, resident Ronald E. Schroeder, 37, has been charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of an unconscious victim, 27 counts of capturing an image of nudity, and one count each of battery, possession of a switchblade, and illegally accessing computer data.
Schroeder is also facing additional charges for domestic violence. Schroeder reportedly caused physical abuse to a woman and also illegally accessed her e-mail account in order to monitor her Internet communications. Reports say that Schroeder is accused of throwing the woman up against a wall and "jamming" his fingers up the woman's nostrils "until her nose started to bleed."
Schroeder’s attorney, Scott Schmidklofer, declined to answer questions regarding Schroeder's professional capacity as a clown who uses the stage names "Silly the Clown" and "Mr. Silly." Schmidklofer stated that Schroeder never informed him of his professional standing in the clown community, and said, "That doesn't mean he hasn't been a clown."
Schmidklofer maintains that his client is being charged with an abnormally high number of charges due to previous allegations of abuse. Schroeder was a suspect in both the unsolved 1991 death of his daughter and reported injuries to another daughter in 2005. Schmidklofer also claims that Schroeder is paying a high price for someone who has no previous criminal record. Schroeder has been held in the Waukesha County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail since Monday.
"Maybe this case is being prosecuted more vigorously than it otherwise would," Schmidklofer revealed in a statement given to reporters at the Waukesha County Circuit Court on Thursday afternoon. When asked why Schmidklofer felt this way, he said, "The record speaks for itself about what people did to him in the past."
"I haven't done anything illegal or unethical," District Attorney Brad Schimel said. "I am prosecuting Ronald Schroeder for offenses that I believe have probable cause and offenses that I believe I will prove beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," Schimel said. "I am not prohibited from taking into account other things that I believe he has done that are illegal or improper. There is nothing new about a prosecutor taking an approach where you go after things you are able to prove and take into account other things you are not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt."
Schroeder and his attorney are preparing to rebut the allegations in a May 18th preliminary hearing.
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