Man gets 8 years in prison for sexual assault and breach of agreement

MONROE — A 39-year-old Monticello man was sentenced to eight years in prison and six years of extended supervision after he allegedly violated the terms of his plea deal in connection with previous offenses related to the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl at his home Apartment in the city center.

At a Sept. 26 court hearing, Adam Kierna faced prison time not only for new drug possession charges, but also for violations related to a previous agreement to defer prosecution for second-degree sexual assault of a child.

“I regret the decisions I made,” Kierna told District Judge Jane Bucher before sentencing, in which the state sought a 10-year prison sentence. “I want to do better.”

This deferred prosecution was approved in court on August 2nd. As part of his plea agreement, a separate charge of third-degree sexual assault was dismissed.

The judge noted Kierna’s lengthy criminal record, including convictions in Illinois, and the harm the abuse caused to the minor victim in her prison sentence decision last Thursday.

“This case is unusual,” said Bucher. “(The) consequences she (the victim) suffered are astounding.”

Kierna’s path from probation was detailed by the district attorney.

“Mr. “Kierna was sentenced to five years’ probation on Count 3, which included an additional charge of third-degree sexual assault, which required him to serve one year in the Green County Jail with Huber privileges (work release),” District Attorney said Craig Nolen the original sentence before Bucher’s resentencing. “In addition, following his guilty plea, Mr. Kierna entered into a five-year deferred sentencing agreement for Count 1 (sexual assault).”

On December 7, 2023, Nolen added, the state filed a motion to revoke the deferred sentencing agreement and proceeded with sentencing “on Count 1 of Sexual Abuse of a Child in the Second Degree…” A guilty plea and a conviction were also filed in the third degree of sexual assault, according to court records.

The new charges also involved drugs and include possession of an illegal article – he allegedly attempted to smuggle Suboxone into the Green County Jail – and possession of a controlled substance.

Officials said the original crime occurred around Thanksgiving in 2021 in downtown Monticello, but only later came to light when the victim reported the crime to law enforcement officers in Virginia, nearly 1,000 miles away. A statement was made there on April 6, 2022.

There, the teenage victim described the incident in which she visited Kierna at his apartment above a store in downtown Monticello.

“One thing led to another and I ended up in his bed,” the girl told authorities, according to the criminal complaint.

Investigators later obtained a copy of the couple’s text messages discussing the alleged incident and planning a future rendezvous. At one point in the transcript, the defendant appears to acknowledge in a text message to the teen that what he is doing is wrong.

A minor cannot legally consent to sex in Wisconsin. The defendant’s first arrest for sexual harassment occurred during a work shift at a restaurant in New Glarus.

Bearded Kierna, who wore a black T-shirt, was taken to jail immediately after Thursday’s hearing.