Was a sexual assault convict freed after Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford’s office failed to file an appeal?

A man convicted of sexual assault was freed after an office led by Susan Crawford missed a court deadline.

In an ad, Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in the April 1 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, suggested that Crawford, the liberal candidate, was personally responsible.

In October 1999, a Waukesha County jury convicted Thomas Gogin of second-degree sexual assault. Gogin contended the sex was consensual. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

In July 2001, a Waukesha-based state appeals court ordered a new trial. It ruled Gogin’s attorney made errors that could have affected the verdict.

An attorney in the Wisconsin Justice Department’s appeals unit, led by Crawford, missed the deadline to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Gogin, who served about two years in prison, was not retried. Instead the Waukesha County district attorney offered a plea deal. Gogin pleaded no contest to third-degree sexual assault and was sentenced to five years of probation.