Former Slinger High School band director gets 5 years in prison for student sex assault

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

WEST BEND - Longtime Slinger High School band director David Hanke was sentenced Friday to five years in prison — the maximum allowed — for sexually assaulting a student at his home in 2000.

In April, a jury found Hanke, 67, guilty of sexual assault of a student by school staff at his home in 2000. The 2017 charges stunned the community where Hanke was seen by many as a longtime, tireless advocate for students and music, a supportive friend and respected band teacher nationwide.

The victim, now 35, came forward in 2016, before the #MeToo movement gained momentum in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, but the case highlighted the same dynamics: A male in a position of power over younger victims who came to respect and depend on their assailant, and then worry no one would believe them if they reported a crime.

Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Hanson recommended the maximum sentence — five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and Washington County Circuit Judge James Pouros agreed.

Commenting on the more than three dozen character letters submitted on Hanke's behalf and on statements in court from several of those writers, Pouros noted how many described what great cost the conviction has had for Hanke, his family and friends.

"You are not the victim, Mr. Hanke," he said.

Defense attorney William Mayer urged probation, noting Hanke's age, health, retirement from teaching, lack of any past record and the brief nature of the offense and when it occurred. Hanke had heart and brain tumor surgery in August. He has recovered, though his conditions will require monitoring.

Hanke did not testify at trial. On Friday, he said, "If at any time over 37 years full time at Slinger I betrayed a student's trust, the only thing I can do is apologize."

The victim also spoke to Pouros.

"He wounded me mentally and emotionally. He broke my spirit," she said of Hanke. She said Hanke has shown no remorse, and that she's certain that, given the chance, he would assault another girl.

In her sentencing memo, Hanson wrote that the factors favoring leniency are outweighed by "the repugnant nature" of the victim's assault and those against three other former students.

"The defendant never spent a day in jail," until his conviction, Hanson wrote, while the former students "have been essentially imprisoned by the defendant’s betrayal, assaultive behavior and inappropriate, unhealthy relationship with them and the burden of maintaining the 'Band Family' secret."

On Friday, she called the laudatory statements about Hanke from non-family members disappointing, disheartening and "a slap in the face" of the victims.

"He relied on the very status those people spoke of" to commit the crime, she said. "The court shouldn't let him use it again to escape punishment."

The victim, now 35, came forward about the offense in late 2016, four years after Hanke had retired but while he was still involved at Slinger High as a substitute and in other capacities.

After Hanke was charged last year, several more former students revealed stories of his inappropriate behavior during his decades at the school.

He was not charged in those incidents because of when they occurred, but some of the women testified at his trial about similar attempted or successful sexual assaults by Hanke.

One spoke Friday, saying she feels guilty about not coming forward earlier, and maybe saving other girls from Hanke's assaults in later years.

The victim in the charged case testified that Hanke had invited her to his house, that she drove there after school and drank beer he offered her. In the basement, he persuaded her to remove her shirt and bra for a "proper massage." While she lay on her stomach on the carpet, Hanke massaged her back before reaching under her and groping her breasts for several minutes.

The next thing she could remember, she was in the driveway, leaving, when Hanke followed her out and reminded her of the "circle of trust."

Before pronouncing sentence, Pouros took seven minutes to read the victim's direct testimony back verbatim. He said it showed how Hanke carefully planned the assault, using the same methods described by the "other acts" witnesses.

At trial, Hanson showed how Hanke slowly conditioned his targets to not recognize proper boundaries by offering a fun "clubhouse" atmosphere in the band room, discussing school work and personal concerns, brushing against girls, watching them change into uniforms and offering neck rubs.

"When they came to the defendant's house, they never saw it coming," Hanson said.

The defense argued at trial that the victim regretted meeting Hanke in his hotel room in 2001, while she was in college, and made up the earlier incident to fit the time frame for prosecution.

The exact timing is critical because the victim turned 18 that same fall. If she was 18 when the incident occurred, it would have required prosecution within six years. If she was only 17, it could be charged until she turned 45.