State seeks to block Waukesha man's release under sexual predator law

By Mike Johnson of the Journal Sentinel

Waukesha - A 43-year-old Waukesha man convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy remains a threat even after spending about seven years in prison and should not be released to the community, the Wisconsin Department of Justice says.

Hector Munoz is scheduled to be released from prison on Feb. 2, but the justice department filed a petition Tuesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court under the state's sexual predator law to block his release.

The state attorney general's office is seeking to have Munoz deemed a sexually violent person and is asking that he remain locked up indefinitely in a state secure mental health institution.

The sexual predator law allows for the worst sex offenders to be held for treatment after prison if it is determined during a civil trial that they are more likely to re-offend than not.

In its petition, the state contends Munoz suffers from a mental condition that predisposes him to engage in acts of sexual violence and it is likely that he will engage in future acts of sexual violence.

Munoz was a registered sex offender at the time of his conviction in 2003 of third-degree sexual assault and exposing a child to harmful materials, according to court records. He had sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy and gave him pornography, court records show.

In 2002, Munoz had been placed on 18 months' probation for a lewd and lascivious behavior charge issued in 2001. He served five days in jail, had to register with police departments as a sex offender and was not allowed any unsupervised contact with children, according to court records.