License Revoked For Crimes Recorded On DVDs
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has revoked a convicted attorney’s license
On August 16, 2013, Attorney Dudas was charged with 31 criminal counts in Outagamie County Circuit Court. On April 30, 2014, following a trial, an Outagamie County jury found Attorney Dudas guilty of 30 criminal counts, including felony first degree sexual assault, felony second-degree reckless injury, felony substantial battery, 14 counts of felony second-degree sexual assault, 11 counts of felony strangulation and suffocation, one count of misdemeanor battery, and one count of misdemeanor intimidation of a victim.
The criminal appeals were not concluded until 2020
The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of conviction on February 18, 2020. On June 16, 2020, this court denied Attorney Dudas’ petition for review.
Sanction and timing
Having reviewed the stipulation and the OLR’s memorandum in support of the stipulation, we approve the stipulation and adopt the stipulated facts and legal conclusions of professional misconduct. Given the extreme seriousness of the felony criminal convictions that underlie the misconduct allegation contained in the OLR’s complaint, we agree that the revocation of Attorney Dudas’ license to practice law in this state is an appropriate level of discipline. Consistent with this court’s treatment of discipline imposed in proceedings that are filed following an SCR 22.20 summary suspension, we agree that it is appropriate to set the commencement date of the revocation for May 21, 2014, the effective date of the underlying SCR 22.20 summary suspension.
The Court of Appeals opinion is linked here and describes a July 2013 incident
That evening, one of Jane and Dudas’ five children called 911 after Jane ran from her bedroom, covered in blood, and screamed for help. Jane subsequently informed law enforcement that Dudas had physically and sexually assaulted her, and that he had videotaped himself doing so. She also stated that he had committed similar assaults during the past year, and that he had also videotaped some of those incidents.
Law enforcement searched Dudas’ house and located eighteen DVDs. Seventeen of those DVDs contained recordings of Dudas engaging in violent activity with Jane. This activity included Dudas: pushing and holding Jane’s head against his penis during fellatio, to the point that Jane choked, gagged and vomited; placing his fingers into Jane’s mouth to the point that she choked, gagged and vomited; rubbing Jane’s vomit onto her face; pulling and twisting Jane’s nipples to the point that a pus-like substance began to discharge from them; anally penetrating Jane while she expressed pain and asked him to stop; pinning Jane’s arms behind her back after she indicated that he was hurting her; and placing his hand around Jane’s throat and squeezing until she struggled for air.
Police determined that the DVDs depicted activity that took place between March 2012 and July 2013. They further determined that none of the DVDs depicted the specific events of July 21, 2013. The Information ultimately charged five counts relating to the July 21 event, with the remaining counts corresponding to recordings found on ten of the recovered DVDs.
Post Crescent reports he received a 30-year prison sentence. Mike Frisch)