Richard Sotka appears in Brown County court, August 21, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Convicted murderer Richard Sotka’s trial for allegedly attacking a jail correctional officer was postponed again on Friday. The new trial date is Jan. 8.
Although Sotka is serving back-to-back life sentences with no chance of parole for the murders of Rhonda Cegelski and Paula O’Connor, prosecutors are moving forward with the battery by a prisoner count. Sotka has pleaded not guilty.
Sotka was originally set to stand trial Oct. 16, but with plea talks in the works at the time, it was canceled. A Dec. 11 trial date was set as a backup.
However, defense attorney Jeff Cano told a judge Friday that Sotka has been unable to view the discovery while in prison, and he has not been able to meet with Sotka to discuss the case.
As a result, next week’s trial was canceled in favor of the Jan. 8 date.
The incident happened Oct. 12, 2023. The complaint quotes the correctional officer saying:
“Sotka screamed something, and that is when Sotka struck me for the first time with a fist. His fist hit me on my left ear. The strike hurt my ear and I saw stars. I yelled, “What are you doing?” I heard Officer AG call for backup on the radio. Sotka continued to strike me over and over again with his fist and we moved back. It felt like all the strikes were on my head. I did not give Sotka permission to strike me, cause me pain, or cause me harm in any way. At one point I went into a defensive position as he kept hitting me. I finally was able to extend my arms and stop his strikes from hitting me. Officer AG arrived, and I felt Sotka’s level of tension drop,” according to the complaint.
Jail staff members immediately responded and were able to subdue Sotka and get him restrained. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was released later that same morning.
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