Editor’s note: WhitewaterWise has contacted the Walworth County District Attorney’s office and has been informed that DA Vivien TenHaken, who is familiar with the events in Williams Bay on Sept. 21, will be back in the office on Monday.   

By Kim McDarison

Charges of strangulation and simple battery have been referred by the Williams Bay Police Department to the Walworth County District Attorney’s office following an incident involving Whitewater High School Principal Brent Mansky, who is a resident of Williams Bay, and two Williams Bay high school students.

The incident, which stemmed from a toilet-papering episode involving the juveniles following a homecoming celebration in Williams Bay, has led to municipal citations filed against the two students of vandalism and trespassing.

The citations and the referred criminal charges against Mansky stem from activities which took place on the evening of Sept. 21.

Following a story about the incident which was initially reported in the Janesville Gazette, WhitewaterWise filed an open records request which was made available for pickup on Tuesday. WhitewaterWise requested and the department provided a letter from Williams Bay Police Chief Justin Timm, several police reports describing police contact with Mansky and the two juveniles, and police body camera footage showing interviews held by police officers with Mansky on the night of the incident and the two juveniles at their school.

Timm’s letter 

In his letter, Timm cited state statutes which, he wrote: “require government entities to conduct a balancing of interests analysis to determine whether permitting inspection would result in harm to the public interest which outweighs the legislative policy recognizing the public interest in allowing inspection. I have conducted this balancing analysis and concluded the public’s interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public’s strong interest in release of the following information for the following reasons.” He next cited law regarding information involving juvenile victims or witnesses, further noting that any such information identifying the juveniles has been redacted from the documents requested.

Further, he wrote, that while “under ordinary circumstances, our department redacts personally identifiable information of adult victims and witnesses for many of the same balancing test reasons, … in this instance, the records relate to an adult holding a position of public trust — a public educator — accused of criminal conduct, an adult who is simultaneously accused of criminal activity, and an adult who was the victim of alleged criminal activity that is relatively minor in nature. When considering these factors under the balancing test, I believe release of Mr. Mansky’s personally identifiable information is required despite his status as a victim of alleged criminal activity, as there is a strong public interest in disclosure of alleged criminal behavior committed by an individual holding a position of public trust.” 

What happened, according to police reports, on Sept. 21? 

As outlined on the department’s “charging sheet,” the department is recommending charges of “strangulation suffocation,” resulting from contact between Mansky and a juvenile on the night of Sept. 21. A second charge of “battery, simply assault” also is recommended.

Within a supplemental report filed on Sept. 26 by Lt. William Kostock of the Williams Bay Police Department, he noted he had undertaken a review of information collected over “the course of the investigation pertaining to the vandalism incident on Sept. 21.” 

Through review of information received from Village of Williams Bay Police Officer Benjamin Borgen, Kostock wrote, he had become aware of information “regarding the actions of all parties involved,” including Mansky.

Within his summary, he wrote that on Sept. 21, two juveniles were toilet-papering residences in Williams Bay, “to which they had permission to do so. It is important to note, prior to Homecoming week, the student body of Williams Bay was addressed on the matter of TP’ing and advised it was not allowed on properties where students did not have permission.”

Additionally, the summary reported that while the juveniles were in the Prairie View Subdivision, “they approached a residence known to them as Brent Mansky’s. Brent is the former Williams Bay Middle/High School principal.”

The summary states that Mansky’s home had been vandalized “twice prior to 2023.” During those incidents, the home had been sprayed with kitchen condiments and received damage after a beer bottle was thrown against some siding, the summary noted.

According to the summary, on Sept. 21, upon approaching Mansky’s home, the two juveniles “threw a roll of toilet paper at a tree,” however, the report continued, the attempt to place toilet paper in the tree was “unsuccessful.”

The juveniles next attempted to retrieve the roll of toilet paper, the report states, which led to an appearance of Mansky from “the south side of his residence” after which he began to chase the juveniles from his property.

Mansky “chased the boys across Woodlawn Drive and into the neighboring side yard” of a residence, the information about which was redacted from the report.

Upon reaching one of the juveniles, the report states that Mansky “tackled him to the ground,” with the report noting that the word “tackled” was used by Mansky to describe his interaction with the youth when he was discussing the incident with Borgen.

A juvenile, also describing the incident to Borgen, said that Mansky “dug his fingers into (redacted)’s eyes, picked him up from his neck, strangled and dragged him.” The juvenile further told Borgen that he was able to get away after he “slipped out of his sweatshirt.”

Borgen reported that during his interview with the juvenile, he photographed injuries around the child’s neck, which, the juvenile said, were sustained during his contact with Mansky. The officer did not see any injuries to the juvenile’s eyes, the summary stated.

Additionally, Kostock reported, “events described by (two names redacted) were partially corroborated by Brent during my two contacts with him on (Sept. 21).”

Kostock noted that during the night of the incident, Mansky presented him with a sweatshirt he had taken from one of the boys he alleged had arrived at his home.

The report noted that Mansky’s “main complaint” when talking with Kostock was “the lack of presence of law enforcement in his neighborhood” during the Homecoming event and the “continued harassment and vandalism by Williams Bay students.”

Kostock reported that he made contact with Mansky a second time on the night of the incident, at which time Mansky “added to his story, explaining he had chased the vandals across the street where he ‘tackled’ (name redacted) and took his sweatshirt.”

Kostock said that during his second visit to the Mansky home he located a “black facemask and silver iPhone belonging to (redacted) in the side yard of (location redacted).”

Mansky, according to Kostock, told him “he had retained the sweatshirt in an attempt to identify the vandal the next school day when he confronted Williams Bay administration regarding the TP’ing incident and vandalism at his residence.”

The report noted that the “juvenile parties” involved were issued municipal citations by Borgen.

Referral of charges 

Under a heading of “referral of charges,” Kostock wrote: “After reviewing all available information, I found while (redacted) and (redacted)’s actions provoked Brent’s engagement to stop the vandalism, Brent’s actions met criteria for possible criminal charges.”

Additionally, he wrote, “on September 26, 2023, Officer Shiroda contacted (redacted)’s mother (name redacted), who wished Brent to be charged for the assault to her son.”

Within a supplemental report, filed by Kostock on Sept. 30, he wrote that upon reviewing supplemental reports filed by Borgen, he was forwarding a summons request to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office for its review.

A photograph of the marks around a juvenile’s neck, alleged to have been receive during his contact with Mansky, was provided to WhitewaterWise within our open records request.

Body camera footage 

Additionally, four video extractions created from officer body camera footage have been release, two of which document interactions with both juveniles involved when they were interviewed by police at their school.

Two other extractions show Mansky on the night of the incident as he was describing events to the police. Mansky, who appears very agitated by the event, told the officer that a vehicle was circling the area near his home and he was “getting scared as sh*t.”

He referred to the juveniles as “a** holes” while he led police to a spot where he believed they had left something behind. The officer was able to retrieve a mask and phone.

During Mansky’s initial interaction with police on the night of Sept. 21, body camera footage shows a police officer approaching a visibly agitated Mansky. As the officer approached, Mansky said it was “the third f*cking year in a row.” He complained to the officer about a lack of law enforcement on duty during Homecoming weekend, using the “F” word over the course of his discussion on his lawn with the officer a multitude of times. He eventually apologized, for, he said, “losing my cool,” noting that the incidents he was describing were disruptive for his family. He described activities on Sept. 21 as individuals “ransacking” his home and neighborhood.

“I am so beyond pissed,” Mansky told the officer.

“I am sick and tired of this sh*t,” he added.

Said Mansky, as recorded on the footage: “There are two people on duty on the night everybody in this town knows these kids are running through — my issue is more with Chief Timm. My issue is more with (Williams Bay District Administrator) Dr. White. Like what — oh I’m sorry that happened, well no sh*t, Dr. White, you don’t f*cking live here, you don’t have your house getting destroyed. No sh*t, it’s tough luck. I’ve had it. And I want this kid,” he held up the sweatshirt he took from the juvenile earlier that evening, “ID-ed on camera, at school.”

Mansky told the officer he would bring the shirt and the toilet paper and “throw it on Dr. White’s desk and say ‘this is the third time I’ve f*cking talked to you about this.’”

Mansky confirmed for the officer that he had security cameras on his property, but they were turned off during the incident. He claimed the juveniles were in his neighborhood for 25 minutes.

“I watched them go around and around and around and around,” he said. “The fact that there are only two of you guys on duty tonight is utterly ridiculous. It is the only night they are out ransacking, the only one … They are clear as day traveling in packs, driving like bandits around here and turning their lights off when they get to the place they want to go.

“You don’t have a chance,” he said, describing to the officer his concern that vandalism could go unchecked with so few officers on duty.

As of Thursday, no charges have been filed in the case against Mansky by the Walworth County District Attorney’s office as evidenced through the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.

An earlier story, including a statement about the incident made by the Whitewater Unified School District Superintendent Caroline Pate-Hefty, is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/superintendent-responds-to-media-story-regarding-alleged-altercation-involving-high-school-principal-and-juveniles-in-williams-bay/. 

This story may be updated.