Daily Archives: April 2, 2018

So Hey, We’re Off to See the Wizard – Permanent Return TBD

April 2, 2018 By in Blognotes Tags: ,

We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We hear he is a whiz of a wiz. If ever a wiz there was …

 

As some of you know, this blog will be on a semi-hiatus after April 1st with only sporadic posts over the next few months.  We’re moving out of the house and looking for a new place. We are currently scheduled to go into temporary housing and may not be in permanent housing until sometime this summer. Maybe. Earlier, if we get lucky.  Nothing to be concerned about.  This has been a long planned move that we thought would happened in 2017 but didn’t.  We’re packing our own stuff and we’re currently drowning in large and medium Home Depot boxes. It turns out that despite excellent multi-tasking skills, packing boxes and blogging do not actually mix well.

Your blogger will be on unsettled schedule for a while. Hoping that the hiatus will be short and painless but knowing that may not be the case. The blog has been around for ten years now, so maybe it’s a good time to reassess the mission. Or decamp to The Wicked Wasabi so I can get some real sleep while I raise laughing chickens with colored eggs in a farm, hey? Or you know, cartoonists and lawyers seem to be the only folks having the time of their lives these days … so that, too … but anyway, the break could help me think through what to do with the blog in the future and the hows of it.

I’ve been around a bit to recognize that things are not quite well, and I know I would feel bad giving up this watch at this time.  But perhaps this is just me suffering from separation anxiety, right? Where does that put me in Abe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?

Some of you have been with this blog since the beginning, so  know that your feedback and input are always appreciated.  I’ll be checking emails and Twitter periodically but apologies in advance if response time lags a little. Now take care and be kind to each other.

 

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Diplomatic Security Agent Charged With Five Counts of Sexual Assault Over Four Years in Wisconsin

April 2, 2018 By in Court Cases, Diplomatic Security, Functional Bureaus, Spectacular, State Department Tags: , ,

Posted: 3:11 am  ET

 

Diplomatic Security agent David S. Scharlat was charged on March 31 with five counts of felony sexual assault, ranging from first to third degree, in Waukesha County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. According to the Journal Sentinel, Scharlat’s attorney, Paul Bucher, said the allegations “were old, including some that had been dismissed at an earlier civil court hearing, and his client believes the alleged actions were consensual.”

Scharlat is an agent with the U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Services. On Friday, a spokesperson for the State Department could not comment on his employment status or the investigation.

In a 2012 federal court filing, Scharlat said he was assigned to the Chicago Field Office and had been with the agency for about 11 years.

Wisconsin Circuit Court records indicate case 2017CV001949 was filed against Scharlat on November 6, 2017:  Waukesha County Case Number Party Sealed by Judge Bugenhagen vs. David Scot Scharlat “The court did not issue an injunction against the respondent in this case. The reasons were stated on the record and may be explained in the final order. No adverse inference should be drawn against the respondent when an injunction is denied or a case dismissed. The fact that a petition was originally filed means nothing.”

Case 2017CV001998 was filed on November 13, 2017 for “Domestic Abuse-Temp Rest Order.” Court record for the November 20, 2017 injunction hearing says:

Petitioner in court. Petitioner in court with Attorney Rebecca M Coffee. Respondent David S Scharlat in court. Attorney Paul E Bucher in court for Respondent David S Scharlat. Atty. Coffee requests to proceed on both case 17CV1998 and 17CV1949. Atty. Bucher objects to proceeding on both filings. Court stated they will proceed on both case but the definition of domestic abuse and harassment to defer. Atty. Bucher moves to dismiss both cases. Court denies the Motion to Dismiss. H.W., sworn in and testified. Atty. Bucher requests all witnesses be sequestered. Court orders all witnesses be seated in the hallway. Court continues case for criminal case to proceed. Injunction hearing scheduled for April 30, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Case 2018CF000482 was filed on March 30, 2018 charging Scharlat with Count 1 3rd Degree Sexual Assault; Count 2 1st Degree Sexual Assault/Great Bodily Harm; Count 3-5 2nd Degree Sexual Assault/Use of Force. Initial appearance is scheduled for April 11, 2018 at 1:15 pm. The Court record notes that “This case has not been concluded. Unless a judgment of conviction is entered, the defendant is presumed innocent of all charges.”

The criminal complaint includes three victims, identified as HLW, MRH and CKT with charges filed “upon a review of the investigative reports of Detective Paula Hoffa, Village of Hartland Police Department, Detective Sergeant Gwen Bruckner of the Town of Brookfield Police Department, and Lieutenant Detective Kristen Wraalstad and Officer of the Town of Oconomowoc Police Department.”

According to the complaint, “Officers made contact with Scharlat about the incident on October 20, 2017 at HLW’s residence and he advised officers that although he had been with HLW at her residence on that evening, he had not had intercourse with her at her residence.” The complaint also says that “The fitted sheet from HLW’s bed from the night of October 20, 2017 was submitted to the State Crime Lab for testing. The results from the DNA testing of the sheet showed that Scharlat’s semen was present, consistent with HLW’s statement.”

Under Count 2,  complaint says that “When questioned about HLW’s level of intoxication and her incapacity/inability to give consent, he stated when they got home from the bar, HLW was not incapacitated but did have trouble walking.”

Under Count 3 and 4, complaint says “On Monday, February 26, 2018 officers had contact with MRH 08/01/1967 who, in a statement deemed to be reliable inasmuch as she is a common, ordinary citizen witness indicates that she had been sexually assaulted by David Scharlat on two occasions.”

Under Count 5, complaint says “Officers had contact with CKT, DOB 03/12/1970 to whom they explained they were investigating an incident that they believed may have some connection to an incident involving her. In a statement deemed to truthful and reliable inasmuch as she is a common, ordinary citizen witness in this case, CKT advised that her rapist and stalker was Scharlat.”

We’ve requested comments from DS/Public Affairs about this case but so far have heard only crickets.

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Diplomatic Spouse Martin Cooke Rescues Drowning Tourist in Western Australia

April 2, 2018 By in Consulate General, Foreign Service, Spouses, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , ,

Posted: 2:27 am  ET

 

Western Australia’s Esperance Express reported in early March that “brave actions saved the life of a drowning tourist” after he was caught in a rip current at Twilight Cove in Western Australia.

Around 4:30pm on Sunday March 4, 2018, American tourist Martin Cooke was swimming when he spotted a man waving in distress.

“I saw a guy waving and at first I thought he was just having fun, waving at somebody else, but then I noticed that a guy a little distance from him was signalling all kinds of trouble,” Mr Cooke said.
“So I swam out to that guy as quick as I could, and by the time I got out to him he was under, so I just grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him above the water.

 

Martin Cooke is the spouse of American Consul General Rachel Cooke who was on official visit in the area. Esperance located on the south east coast of Western Australia is under U.S. Consulate General Perth‘s consular district.  According to its website, the first U.S. consular official in Western Australia was posted to Fremantle in 1886, with the first Consul General appointed to the State’s capital of Perth in 1937.  Western Australia is the country’s biggest state and occupies the entire western third of the country, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. The consular district of Western Australia has around 15,000 U.S. citizens at any one time.

About that day of the incident, Martin said: “[T]hat’s what we were doing in Esperance. She went to work there and in the nearby town of Albany the week of March 5th, and we went down early to enjoy the weekend since we’d never been there before. We were out at a beach near town when I pulled Francis from the water — he and his friends were having a tough time in the strong current, and I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. He also lives in Perth and we’re in touch via email now — we plan to meet up with him and his family soon to catch up.”

Martin whose background is IT has been a diplomatic spouse for 16 years. He told us, “I’ve been lucky to be able to continue in that line of work for most of my time as an EFM — that included [tours] in Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Kabul, Tajikistan, and then in Herat in western Afghanistan.” He was “the very first EFM in a field location in a war zone ever.” While his FSO did back-to-back assignments in DC, Martin was also able to work with the content management team at the Washington Post.

He is currently into drone photography and videography. Check out his gorgeous photos from  Esperance and please give Consulate  Perth’s Facebook page some love.

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