On Thursday, October 26, 2023, Thomas William Bartels, DOB 8/19/1947 was found guilty by a Dunn County jury for one count of Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child, three counts of 1st Degree Child Sex Assault-Sexual Contact or Sexual Intercourse w/ Person under Age of 13 and one count of Exposing genital to a child. The two victims in this court case were 11 and 13 at the time of the assaults.
Bartels was a former Treasurer with the Iowa Wrestling Federation and moved to Dunn County around 2000 where he assisted with wrestling in the Glenwood City area. In 1998, Bartels was investigated for similar incident of sexual abuse of a 15-year-old boy in Adel, IA but was never officially charged by the Dallas County District Attorney’s office. Bartels will remain in custody until his sentencing on December 20, 2023.
This case was the result of a collaborative effort of the following agencies: Menomonie Police Department, Dunn County Sheriff’s Department, Dunn County Human Services, Dunn County District Attorney’s Office, Dunn County Victim/Witness Office and Door County Human Services.
