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Lifelong Prosecutor Helped Found Waukesha’s Child Advocacy Center
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel highlights his advocacy on behalf of abused children in his latest campaign ad.
- Brad Schimel has spent his career helping survivors of abuse get justice, and the help they need to heal and thrive
- No candidate for Attorney General, in the history of the State of Wisconsin, has more experience prosecuting sensitive crimes
- He’s the only candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General this year that has any experience prosecuting sexual assault and abuse cases
- Brad’s dedication to survivors of abuse makes him the right choice to be Our Attorney General
[WAUKESHA COUNTY, Wis…] Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel’s campaign has released a new television ad that touts his lifelong commitment to helping victims of crime. The ad, which began airing last week, tells the story of the Big Yellow House, which is home to two social service and social welfare organizations that assist children in crisis.
“At the Department of Justice, we partner with local law enforcement to keep communities across the state safe,” said Schimel. “But throughout my nearly 30-years experience as a Wisconsin prosecutor I’ve known that when crimes are committed, it’s imperative we take a compassionate, victim-centered approach in the pursuit of justice.”
Brad Schimel helped lead the effort to create the facility in 2006 as a founding member of the Waukesha County Child Advocacy Center Task Force. The template Schimel helped create encouraged other communities to do the same, and Wisconsin now has a strong network of child advocacy centers in communities all around the state. Schimel co-chaired the Steering Committee for the Big Yellow House until he was elected Wisconsin Attorney General.
“Brad really brings the passion and commitment to keep kids safe in a world that can be relatively unsafe,” said Terri Terrill, Executive Director of Family Service of Waukesha.
Child Advocacy Centers (CAC) provide a safe, child-focused environment for a trained interviewer to talk to children who have been the victim of a crime. These interviews provide a multidisciplinary team of social workers, medical, and law enforcement personnel valuable information that assists in the prosecution of offenders and begins the process of providing needed trauma-informed care to these young victims. They also provide access to counseling and social welfare services for children. Many, like the Big Yellow House, also have facilities for conducting a compassionate medical examination. The Big Yellow House was the first full-service CAC in Wisconsin.
“Brad has always been a very, very strong advocate for the rights and needs of victims of crime,” said Mark Lyday, former Director of Child Advocacy and Protective Services at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
Brad Schimel’s experience as a prosecutor and victim advocate is unmatched in this race. He’s spent the largest part of his career as a prosecutor in the sensitive crimes unit, protecting children and vulnerable adults and holding predators accountable. During his time in the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, Schimel helped establish Waukesha County’s Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program, which plays an integral role in making sure that in Waukesha County, crime victims, especially those of sexual violence, receive the best possible care. Schimel also served on Waukesha County’s Sexual Assault Review Team and participated in the development of Waukesha County’s Sexual Assault Investigation Protocol. He has been previously awarded “Professional of the Year” by the Wisconsin Association of Victim Witness Professionals for his work on behalf of victims of sexual assault and child abuse.
Schimel faces activist Josh Kaul in the General Election. Whereas Brad Schimel has a nearly three decades long, distinguished career as a prosecutor in this state, Josh Kaul has never prosecuted a criminal case in Wisconsin. Not one, ever. Whereas Schimel has a broad, bipartisan coalition of Wisconsin supporters, Kaul is funded and supported by state and national partisan activists.
As our Attorney General, Brad Schimel has continued his victim advocacy, having eliminated the backlog of previously unsubmitted sexual assault kits that sat on shelves in law enforcement agencies and hospitals across the state for as long as 20 years. Schimel also hired the state’s first statewide child abuse resource prosecutor and statewide SANE coordinator, fulfilling a promise he made when he ran for Attorney General in 2014. Earlier this year, Attorney General Schimel successfully led the effort to enact legislation that provides greater protections for neglected children.
The ad is running statewide online and on cable television, and on broadcast television in the La Crosse and Eau Claire markets.
As Attorney General, Shimel has also prioritized preventing Internet crimes against children and violence against women. Under Schimel, Wisconsin is a national leader in the fight against human trafficking. Together with a coalition of Attorneys General from across the country, Brad Schimel has led numerous lawsuits challenging overreach by the federal government that would cripple the economy and hurt Wisconsin families.
Brad Schimel’s determined, yet compassionate, record on criminal justice has earned him the support of 64 of Wisconsin’s 72 sheriffs, including 13 elected Democrat sheriffs who appreciate the breadth, depth, and nonpartisan nature of the Republican Attorney General’s experience.
Brad and his wife, Sandi, raise their two daughters in Waukesha County where Brad previously served as a prosecutor since 1990, including eight years as the elected District Attorney. He was elected Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014.
See the new ad here: https://bradschimel.com/the-big-yellow-house/
Transcript of Ad:
VO: As a prosecutor, Brad Schimel wanted to do more to help the victims, so Brad Schimel helped create the Big Yellow House, a safe place where abused kids can get the help they need and start healing.
Mark Lyday, former Director of Child Advocacy and Protective Services at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin: “Brad has always been a very, very strong advocate for the rights and needs of victims of crime.”
Terri Terrill, Executive Director of Family Service of Waukesha: “Brad really brings the passion and commitment to keep kids safe in a world that can be relatively unsafe.”
VO: Brad Schimel, our Attorney General.
For more information, visit bradschimel.com
