Bill Kramer Pleads Not Guilty To Sexual Assault

State Rep. Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, is pleading not guilty to sexual assault charges.

Kramer faces two counts of felony sexual assault for an incident with a woman in 2011. In Waukesha County court, the Republican entered a plea of “not guilty” and gave up his right to a preliminary hearing.

Kramer’s attorney Ed Borda said because of a state law passed two years ago and upheld last year by a Wisconsin appeals court, the preliminary hearing process has been gutted.

“In the past, there was an opportunity to test the veracity of the witnesses,” said Borda. “That doesn’t exist anymore, because you essentially have a police officer taking the witness stand and reading from a report.”

Borda also told about 10 members of the news media that he’s concerned about the high-profile atmosphere surrounding Kramer’s case.

“That can become a real issue, because people are more interested in the hallway talk rather than what happened,” said Borda.

It’s not just the news media focusing on the Kramer case. Gov. Scott Walker said Kramer lost his leadership post in the Legislature this spring, and even though Kramer pled not guilty, Walker is again calling for him to resign from office.

“I think in terms of the things that have been alleged, that may not necessarily be criminal but just the activities you’re involved in … I felt that he should be out of that position of public trust,” said Walker.

Kramer is also accused of harassing two women earlier this year, though he has not been criminally charged in those cases.