Homeless man charged with attempted sexual assault of child at Cameron Park | Crime

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — A 47-year-old La Crosse man faces felony charges after police say he inappropriately touched a 15-year-old student at Cameron Park last week.

Jerrold Yttrie, who has no permanent address listed, was charged Tuesday with attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child and grooming of a child for sexual activity. Both charges are felonies.

The incident occurred Thursday around 11:30 a.m. when students from La Crosse Polytechnic School were outside at Cameron Park. A teacher observed Yttrie standing extremely close to a female student who was sitting on a picnic table.

According to the criminal complaint, the teacher saw Yttrie touching the student and approached to intervene. When he told Yttrie to leave, Yttrie initially walked toward 4th Street but then turned around when he saw another female student enter the park.

Police reviewed surveillance video from Cameron Park that captured the entire incident. The footage allegedly shows Yttrie walking directly toward the student after she sat down at the picnic table. Video shows him standing less than a foot away from the student and touching her multiple times despite her attempts to pull away.

Officers located Yttrie later that day at Burns Park, where he was sleeping on the grass.

Police transported Yttrie to the hospital for medical clearance, where he had a blood alcohol content of 0.23 — nearly three times the legal limit for driving. Officers found a three-quarters empty bottle of vodka in his pocket, per the complaint.

Yttrie appeared in La Crosse County Circuit Court on Tuesday for his initial appearance. Judge Mark Huesmann set bond at $10,000 cash with several conditions.

The bond conditions prohibit Yttrie from having contact with any schools where minors are present and public parks in the City of La Crosse. He is also subject to GPS monitoring with an exclusion zone covering a one-block radius around Cameron Avenue, 3rd Street, Jay Street and 6th Street, though he may travel to the State Public Defender’s office.

Yttrie is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 4.

If convicted of attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child, Yttrie faces up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. The grooming charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

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