Lawyer ‘winks’ at camera in hidden sex tapes with woman he was prosecuting: court docs.
Daniel Steffen, a former Burnett County, Wisconsin, assistant district attorney, was sentenced to prison
A disgraced Wisconsin prosecutor, Daniel Steffen, secretly recorded himself engaging in sexual activities with three women, one of whom he was prosecuting. During the recordings, he can be heard promising leniency in exchange for sex, as stated in the criminal complaint.
Convicted in April, Steffen was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with a potential maximum sentence of 10.5 years. One of the victims, referred to as “Victim 1” in court documents, was the defendant in a criminal case that Steffen was handling. In the recording, while engaging in sexual acts, Steffen looks at the camera, sticks his tongue out, and winks, repeatedly asking the victim, “Who’s in charge?”
These illicit activities, occurring between 2018 and 2020, were exposed after a witness reported that Victim 1 openly talked about having sexual relations with Steffen in exchange for leniency on her criminal case. Initially denying any relations with Steffen, Victim 1 later admitted to it when confronted with evidence from recordings found on Steffen’s iPad.
Steffen had given Victim 1 his personal cellphone number, and they exchanged texts before engaging in sexual encounters at his home and office during work hours. The recordings were made without Victim 1’s knowledge.
Similar actions were reported with another victim, to whom Steffen offered to avoid charges for hitting a mailbox. This victim was also unaware of being recorded.
Steffen received his sentence from St. Croix County Circuit Judge Scott Nordstrand. Apart from the prison term, he must undergo two years of extended supervision, four years of probation, and be placed on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry for 10 years.
