A disgraced Wisconsin prosecutor secretly recorded himself having sex with three women, including one he was prosecuting.
Daniel Steffen, 52, was an assistant district attorney in Burnett County, Wisconsin, during his crimes. He was heard in at least one of the recordings promising leniency in exchange for sex, according to the criminal complaint.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison after he was convicted in April. He faced a maximum of 10.5 years behind bars.
One of the victims – identified in court documents as “Victim 1” – was the defendant in a criminal case that Steffen was prosecuting.
“While the defendant and Victim #1 are still engaged in sex, the defendant looks at the camera, sticks his tongue out, and winks several times,” and can be heard repeatedly telling the victim, “Who’s in charge?” the complaint said.
Steffen’s illegal escapades between 2018 and 2020 were exposed after a witness told investigators that “Victim 1,” “openly talked about having sexual relations with a Burnett County ADA in exchange for leniency on criminal cases.”
The woman was in court after violating an order of protection against her child’s father. She ultimately had to pay a fine.
“Victim 1” originally denied having relations with Steffen while she was being questioned by investigators, but later admitted to it after they told her she was seen in a recording on Steffen’s iPad, which was seized as evidence, court documents said.
Steffen gave her his personal cell hone number, and they texted for a couple of days before he invited her to his home, where they had sex “several” times, according to the criminal complaint. They also had sex at his office during work hours.
The recordings were from Feb. 11, Aug. 8 and Sept. 11, 2018, and, “It does not appear that VICTIM #1 knew she was being recorded,” according to the complaint.
Similar actions were detailed about another victim, whom he told could avoid charges for hitting a mailbox.
Again, the victim did not know she was being recorded, according to the criminal complaint.
St. Croix County Circuit Judge Scott Nordstrand handed down the sentence.
In addition to his prison time, Steffen must serve two years of extended supervision, four years of probation and placement for 10 years on Wisconsin’s sex offender registry.
