Blomme arrested on 7 felony counts of possessing child porn (UPDATE)

Milwaukee County Children’s Court Judge Brett Blomme has been charged with seven felony counts of possession of child pornography.

The state filed a criminal complaint against Blomme, 38, on Wednesday morning saying the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation had received a tip saying a user of the messaging app Kik who went by the name “dommasterbb” had uploaded images and videos of child pornography 27 separate times in October and November 2020. The images depicted graphic videos and images of boys as young as toddlers.

The complaint said the email used for the account was linked to Blomme, and a DCI agent traced IP addresses used to upload the pornography to a Milwaukee County government building and Blomme’s home in Dane County. IP addresses in Milwaukee County were linked to Blomme’s friend who, according to the complaint, showed investigators text messages showing Blomme was staying at that address at the time the pornography was uploaded.

The DCI agent and law enforcement executed five search warrants on Monday, searching Blomme’s person, his chambers, his vehicle and his homes in Milwaukee and Dane counties. He was arrested on Tuesday and booked in the Dane County jail.

Each of the felony counts is punishable by a $100,000 fine and as many as 25 years in prison. Each charge also requires a mandatory minimum prison sentence of three years initial confinement.

Blomme was in custody for his initial appearance in Dane County court on Wednesday. David Maas, representing the state, asked Commissioner Brian Asmus to impose $2,500 cash bail, plus no unsupervised Internet usage, no cell phones and no unsupervised contact with minors, including Blomme’s own children, as conditions of bail.

Christopher Van Wagner, criminal-defense attorney at Van Wagner Law in Madison, argued that Blomme wasn’t at risk of not appearing or a threat to his own children. He said Internet usage has become “an essential element” of parenting, and there was no suggestion that Blomme’s cell-phone usage would be a threat to society.

Asmus set a signature bond and forbade Blomme from having unsupervised contact with any minors, except his own children. Asmus said he expected Blomme’s husband will monitor the children and thought he would have appeared if it was an issue. Blomme can use the Internet, but he cannot use social media or file-sharing services.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 29 at 3:20 p.m. in Dane County’s Branch 16.

Blomme was elected to Milwaukee County’s Branch 5 last April.

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