D.A. Accused of Sexual Harassment
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a firsthand account from a woman who says Wisconsin district attorney Ken Kratz sent her obscene text messages. Kratz accused of sending raunchy messages to three different women, one of them Stephanie Van Groll, a domestic violence victim, beaten up by her boyfriend, allegedly. Kratz admits sending her text messages and calling her a tall, young, hot nymph.</s>KEN KRATZ, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: My behavior was inappropriate, and I`m embarrassed and ashamed for the choices that I made, and the fault was mine alone.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kratz will not resign, however, which I think is outrageous. And now two more women have come forward. So could he be removed from office? For now he says he`s in psychotherapy. Well, congratulations on that. Straight out to my very special guest, one of the D.A.`s alleged sexting victims, Maria Ruskiewicz. Maria, thank you so much. You say Kratz sent you inappropriate, sexually-explicit text messages in 2008. Tell us your story. Why were you talking to him and what did he text you?</s>MARIA RUSKIEWICZ, ACCUSES D.A. OF HARASSMENT: Sure. The reason why I was talking to Ken Kratz is because I was seeking a pardon for a decade-old drug conviction, and there was a mandatory process. And so I thanked him, and then I met him in his office to discuss advice for a soon-to-be law student. And then he wrote his name on a business card, and when I left I made the mistake of texting him saying, you know, "Thanks, Mr. Kratz for your support. Thinking of an internship, a future connection." And that`s when he started to text his abusive, disgusting text messages that were sexually explicit.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Like what, without using any obscene language?</s>RUSKIEWICZ: Sure. What he would say was, "You know, I`m in Traverse City with my family. How can you please me in between the sheets? Let`s see what you do." I wouldn`t respond. And then he would say, "Why have you failed me? What have I done wrong?" And that`s when I responded back, you know, "I have a boyfriend," which was a lie, just to make sure that it was another factor to say, "Hey, look, leave me alone." And I said, "Let`s -- you know, I thank you for your professional support. As you know, I`m busy." And then he texted me a couple of months later, saying, "Now we need to meet in person." And that`s when I sought help.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: And first of all, how did that make you feel as somebody who was going to him as a person, taxpayer-funded authority figure for help?</s>RUSKIEWICZ: It made me feel violated. It made me feel abused and victimized by Ken Kratz, by his abuse of his power. It scared me. It made me nervous about the future, about how my clemency process was going to go through, if I was going to get it or not, because I didn`t sexually please him.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what did you do about it?</s>RUSKIEWICZ: So what I did was I decided to keep quiet and not rock the boat, but I did seek advice from the university council, as well as, you know, assistant district attorney...</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me ask you another question.</s>RUSKIEWICZ: Yes.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think should happen -- what do you think should happen to Ken Kratz?</s>RUSKIEWICZ: Ken Kratz should be permanently removed from public office, as well as permanently disbarred from the state of Wisconsin or any other state from practicing as an attorney.</s>VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you so much, Maria. Appreciate your honesty. Coming up, terror in Seattle. Four family members shot to death inside their home. Tonight, did a grandma open fire on her own family?