Sentencing delayed in assault case

Schoonover, 22, pleaded guilty to sex crime

By Jason Arndt
Editor

Brady T. Schoonover, recently found guilty of sexually assaulting a child by a Walworth County jury, had his sentencing hearing on similar charges postponed in Kenosha County Circuit Court last week.

Schoonover, 22, guilty of three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a now-16-year-old boy in Pell Lake five to seven years ago on Jan. 24, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a Town of Wheatland girl at a Nov. 27 plea hearing in Kenosha County Circuit Court.

Schoonover was initially charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child, three counts of child enticement and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. The assaults occurred two years ago.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim, then 14 years old, told a Wheatland Center School guidance counselor that she was coerced into having sexual intercourse on two occasions at New Munster Ball Park in March 2015.

The guidance counselor, who was told Schoonover was 17 to 18 years old, immediately alerted authorities of the offenses.

Schoonover, however, was 20 years old when the assaults occurred.

In an interview with the victim, the complaint states she connected with Schoonover on Facebook two years earlier, and in February 2015, she told investigators he contacted her because he “wanted to get together.”

Later that evening, Schoonover, who lived in Genoa City at the time, met with Schoonover at New Munster Ballpark on Geneva Road, where they had sexual intercourse in the back of his vehicle.

Schoonover then allegedly coerced her into sex two more times, with both occurring in March.

With permission from her mother, investigators recovered the girl’s cellular phone, which contained a Skype chat conversation between the two on March 12, 2015.

The printed transcript revealed Schoonover encouraged her to disrobe, engage in sex and later attempted to coerce her to buy condoms at a Walmart store.

“You can buy them. You don’t need to be 18. And I don’t want to risk it,” Schoonover allegedly told the victim. “Just go to Wal-Mart and go to the self-checkout.”

The complaint alleges the victim, who suffered an injury during the assault, feared losing Schoonover as a friend if she told anyone about the sexual acts.

Schoonover, now of Lake Geneva, will be sentenced before Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder on Feb. 23. He faces a maximum 40 years in prison.

Other charges
In Walworth County, where Brady Schoonover and his brother Tayler Schoonover were found guilty of similar offenses, the brothers are scheduled for sentencing on April 2.

During the Schoonovers’ three-day jury trial, the 16-year-old victim told officials Brady Schoonover required him to perform sex acts on him, and when the victim failed to perform to his satisfaction, Brady struck him.

The Schoonovers were found not guilty of two charges. The first of those charges stemmed from allegations that Brady and Tayler Schoonover showed the victim a DVD of adults having sex, a pornographic magazine and a pornographic image from a website similar to https://www.hdpornvideo.xxx/?hl=ar on Brady Schoonover’s phone.

The second stemmed from Brady and Tayler Schoonover requiring the victim’s sister, now 19, to undress during a game of truth-or-dare at a home in the Town of Springfield when the girl was about 6 years old.

They face a maximum of 180 years and 120 years in prison, respectively.

Staff member Vicky Wedig contributed to this report.


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