Crime & Safety

Lewis Givens Jr. Trial: Some Witness Statments May Not Be Allowed

Lewis Givens served as an educational assistant at Olympia Brown Elementary and worked with students with cognitive disabilities. He allegedly sexually assaulted a 9-year-old student and the statements his co-workers made during an internal investigation

Statements Olympia Brown Elementary Staff members made against the educational assistant accused of molesting a girl at the school may not be admissible in court.

Racine County Circuit Court Judge Allan “Pat” Torhorst decided Thursday that he would review the staff members' comments. The people are material witnesses in the cases involving their co-worker Lewis Givens Jr. After reviewing the statements, he will decide whether or not the statements can be used at trial. 

The teachers' and educational assistants' statements were made to officials with the Racine Unified School District during the course of their investigation. Givens’ attorney, Christy Marie Hall, wanted the statements to be admissible, but attorneys representing Racine Unified and the teachers’ union filed separate motions to essentially prevent the statements from being used in court. Prosecutor Bob Repischak said the matter was more of an issue between the defense, the district and the teachers’ union.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“This material is discoverable, but whether they are admissible or not is a whole other story,” Torhorst said.

An in camera review, a legal term that means Torhorst will review the documents in his chambers, will be done to determine whether the documents are admissible. Torhorst reminded Hall that she could obtain witness statements through other means, other than asking for the statements they made during the internal investigation.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Givens, 35, who served as an educational assistant at Olympia Brown Elementary, 5915 Erie St., worked with students with cognitive disabilities. He allegedly sexually assaulted a 9-year-old student, who he was not assigned to care for, said officials with the Caledonia Police Department at the time of the initial complaint.

In 2011, the Racine County District Attorney’s Office charged Givens with two felony counts of first degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 and two felony counts of sexual assault of a child by a person who works with children.

Each count of first-degree sexual assault of a child carries a prison sentence of up to 60 years, and each count of sexual assault of a student by school staff includes a fine of up to $10,000 and six years in prison.

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.