Mauricio Powless appears before Brown County court via Zoom, April 2, 2024. (Brown County Court)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A man who allegedly sexually assaulted two teenage girls and tried to assault another at a hotel pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect Tuesday.
Mauricio Powless, 18, faces two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child, false imprisonment, and attempted sexual assault of a child for the incidents at the Tundra Lodge in Green Bay.
There was some question in court about who would be responsible to pay for psychiatric exam, so another hearing was set for May 14.
With the so-called insanity plea, the jury would first determine if Powless is guilty of charges. If so, the same jury would hear a second phase of the trial regarding his psychiatric condition at the time of the offenses. If the jury determines he did suffer from a mental disease and was unable to discern right from wrong, he would be found not guilty and be committed to a psychiatric facility. If he did not suffer from a mental disease, he could be sentenced to jail or prison.
According to the criminal complaint, the first incident happened on Jan. 20, when Powless allegedly tried to pull down the pants of one girl, and blocked her and a friend from getting out of an elevator. The girls were ages 10 and 13.
While police were investigating that incident, another parent said her child was assaulted, as well. In that case, Powless allegedly grabbed the 13-year-old girl’s backside, and took off running.
On Jan. 25, police were called back to the hotel for another reported assault. In that incident, he allegedly told a different 13-year-old girl to “kiss me” before grabbing her backside, the complaint states.
After his arrest, Powless admitted to the acts, according to the complaint.
“Mauricio stated he was sorry for what he did. He started to cry. He stated he’s never done anything like this in the past and he’s not sure why he did what he did. Mauricio stated he has not been diagnosed with any mental health issues, but stated he feels he should be tested,” the complaint quotes him as saying.
Comments