MONROE - An Evansville man charged in Green County Circuit Court with interfering with the custody of a 14-year-old New Glarus girl has been found competent to stand trial.
Keith Daniel Hartje, 21, is charged with three Class I felony counts of interfering with child custody. He also faces a subsequent charge of felony bail jumping for having contact with the girl in violation of conditions on his $10,000 signature bond in the case.
His attorney, Philip Brehm, raised questions about Hartje's competency in November, and Judge Thomas Vale ordered a competency evaluation.
The physician who performed the evaluation determined that Hartje is competent and understands court proceedings. The physician's report was presented to the court Wednesday.
Not guilty pleas were entered in the case at Wednesday's hearing. Hartje's next court date is a pre-trial conference Feb. 20.
Hartje was charged in October following an investigation into allegations that he caused a 14-year-old New Glarus girl to leave her parents without their consent on three occasions in August and September.
Court records indicate that he and the girl went on road trips together to Illinois, Iowa and around Wisconsin, disappearing for days at a time, shoplifting and committing gas drive-offs along the way. The girl has a history of sneaking out to meet him, and one of her parents had gone so far as to nail her bedroom window shut to keep her from sneaking out.
One of their recent trips caused her to be truant from school in early October. Police eventually located her and Hartje at a cabin on Lake Nebagamon in Douglas County.
Within weeks of signing a $10,000 bond in the case, police say Hartje was breaking conditions of his bond by writing the girl messages to her New Glarus school email account, using Snapchat to message with her, driving past her home and contacting her family.
- Katjusa Cisar
Keith Daniel Hartje, 21, is charged with three Class I felony counts of interfering with child custody. He also faces a subsequent charge of felony bail jumping for having contact with the girl in violation of conditions on his $10,000 signature bond in the case.
His attorney, Philip Brehm, raised questions about Hartje's competency in November, and Judge Thomas Vale ordered a competency evaluation.
The physician who performed the evaluation determined that Hartje is competent and understands court proceedings. The physician's report was presented to the court Wednesday.
Not guilty pleas were entered in the case at Wednesday's hearing. Hartje's next court date is a pre-trial conference Feb. 20.
Hartje was charged in October following an investigation into allegations that he caused a 14-year-old New Glarus girl to leave her parents without their consent on three occasions in August and September.
Court records indicate that he and the girl went on road trips together to Illinois, Iowa and around Wisconsin, disappearing for days at a time, shoplifting and committing gas drive-offs along the way. The girl has a history of sneaking out to meet him, and one of her parents had gone so far as to nail her bedroom window shut to keep her from sneaking out.
One of their recent trips caused her to be truant from school in early October. Police eventually located her and Hartje at a cabin on Lake Nebagamon in Douglas County.
Within weeks of signing a $10,000 bond in the case, police say Hartje was breaking conditions of his bond by writing the girl messages to her New Glarus school email account, using Snapchat to message with her, driving past her home and contacting her family.
- Katjusa Cisar