Green Bay Police investigating two suspicious deaths on the east side, January 29, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A man who killed two women in Green Bay was convicted by a jury Wednesday of attacking an officer at the Brown County Jail.
Richard Sotka, 51, was sentenced to three years in prison and three years of extended supervision by Judge Beau Liegeois.
That sentence will run consecutive to the prison term Sotka is already serving, which is back-to-back life sentences with no chance of parole for the murder of his girlfriend, Rhonda Cegelski, and her friend, Paula O’Connor, in January 2023. Both women were stabbed to death.
While he was awaiting trial in the double homicide case, Sotka was charged with one felony count of battery by a prisoner for physically assaulting a Brown County correctional officer in October 2023. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment and released that same day.
According to the criminal complaint, Sotka was upset with the officer after a search of his cell turned up several contraband items.
The complaint quotes the correctional officer as 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… 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.
Jail staff immediately responded and were able to subdue Sotka and get him restrained.
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