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Monroe man wanted for sex assault of girl
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MONROE - An arrest warrant is issued for a 61-year-old Monroe man on charges that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.

James S. Dietz, 61, was charged Friday with two Class C felony counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child and a Class I felony count of exposing genitals to a child.

The case stems from an investigation into his relationship with a 13-year-old girl in late summer of 2016, according to reports filed with the criminal complaint.

During a forensic interview of the girl in December, she described having sexual intercourse with Dietz on two occasions between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1, 2016. She said the encounters happened after she and her mother accompanied Dietz and his now-estranged wife on a vacation to Door County but before she started school that fall. During this period, she was working for him painting a house and fixing a camper.

Her mother confronted Dietz after she said she witnessed Dietz and her daughter "face-to-face in an embrace" and believed she heard them kissing. Dietz denied anything happened.

As evidence, the girl showed investigators Facebook messages he sent her during this period. Dietz's messages to her included statements such as, "I believe we are from a different life and someday will be the same age in another life," "We are awesome together" and "I love you and this is the only thing that makes my life OK."

When police interviewed Dietz about the allegations, he told them he has a granddaughter the girl's age and denied ever "raping" the girl or touching her inappropriately. He said all he did was try to help, even though everyone told him to stay away from her because "she is bad news" and a "troublemaker" who blames others for her problems.

He told police the girl "was always trying to kiss and hug" him.

A detective asked him why he didn't tell someone or walk away from the situation. Dietz responded that he was "always wanting to help people" and even went to a Christian seminar for troubled teens and bought books for the girl's mother on the subject.

When shown the Facebook messages he sent the girl, he said that back then he was "drunk all the time, abusing prescription medications and smoking marijuana a lot," but he claimed he was always sober and clear-headed when he was with the girl.

He said after he got sober Sept. 16, 2016, he contacted the girl and her mother "to make amends for anything he might have done to hurt or upset them while he was abusing drugs and alcohol," according to the police report. He said that was the last contact he had with them.

Dietz has no prior criminal record in Wisconsin.