WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A Wausau man with a history of sex-related offenses was arrested this week after a girl says he broke into her bedroom, punched her, and touched her inappropriately.
James Begay appeared in court on Thursday for three felony counts including sexual assault of a child and child abuse for the incident. Investigators say he broke into the girl’s room through a window and then punched her as she was sleeping. The victim says he put his hands down her pants, making her think that she would be raped.
Police were led to Begay based on the victim’s description of her attacker and surveillance footage from the area. He’s now being held on a $100,000 bond. Should he post the cash, he will not be able to have contact with the victim or anyone else under the age of 18.
The 35-year-old returns to court on January 8th for a preliminary hearing and February 12th for a pretrial conference.
Begay’s criminal record in Marathon County includes multiple convictions for not maintaining his status on the state’s sex offender registry and a 2010 conviction for 3rd degree sexual assault. Earlier this year he was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine and was handed an 18-month prison sentence that was withheld, meaning he was on probation at the time of his most recent arrest.
He also faces a handful of convictions in Sawyer County for theft of movable property and sex offender registry violations.
The current charges against him carry repeat and sex offender registration violation modifiers, meaning he could face stricter penalties if found guilty.
