An ad accuses Democrat Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford of giving a “sweetheart sentence” to a pedophile in 2022 as Dane County circuit court judge.
The ad titled “This Street” is paid for by the Brad Schimel’s campaign, Crawford’s conservative rival and former Wisconsin Attorney General, and frames Crawford as a soft-on-crime judge who lightly sentenced a man convicted of brutally and repeatedly sexually abusing a little girl. Breitbart News obtained access to the ad before its public release.
The ad references the case of convicted pedophile Curtis O’Brien, 30, who faced up to 60 years behind bars for repeatedly raping and abusing a little girl when she was five and six years old between 2012 and 2014, according to court documents. Court records show Crawford ultimately sentenced the 6-foot-1, 270-pound O’Brien to four years in prison with six years of extended supervision. O’Brien only served nearly two years after sentencing because of time served, a Wisconsin Right Now report detailed.
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“This street is like any other in Wisconsin. But the new neighbor is a pedophile who repeatedly raped a little girl, released after just two years in prison thanks to Judge Susan Crawford’s sweetheart sentence — a fraction of the 60 years he faced,” the ad states. “Now the pedophile lives blocks from a school. And with Susan Crawford on the bench, your street could be next.”
According to the report from Wisconsin Right Now, Crawford repeatedly allowed O’Brien to move around the state on a $500 signature bond and later approved his moves from Black Earth to Oshkosh and then to Madison. O’Brien had a previous criminal record prior to the child sex abuse case, court records show.
The listed address for O’Brien on Wisconsin’s Sex Offender Registry appears to confirm that he now lives near several elementary schools in Madison, Wisconsin. A search on Google Maps reveals that he lives 1.3 miles from Kennedy Elementary School, 0.8 miles from Elvehjem Elementary School, and 3.8 miles from Winnequah Elementary School. State law only limits sex offenders from living with 1,500 feet any school premises, child care facility, public park, place of worship, or youth center.
“Susan Crawford has spent her career prioritizing the feelings of dangerous criminals over the safety of our communities,” Schimel’s campaign spokesperson Jacob Fischer told Breitbart News. “There is a clear reason law enforcement has endorsed in this race: the only candidate with a proven record of prosecuting violent criminals, defending the most vulnerable, and delivering justice is Judge Brad Schimel.”
The statewide television ad will broadcast in every market in the state.
“With 50 days to go before Election Day, the conservative campaign has already spent more on television ads than any previous conservative candidate in Supreme Court history,” a source familiar with the matter told Breitbart News
Susan Crawford is lying to you.
— Team Schimel (@TeamSchimel) February 5, 2025
There is a clear reason why Law Enforcement has endorsed Brad Schimel in this race. pic.twitter.com/xzAJ8FJNfo
The Wisconsin Supreme Court race is expected to be one of the most high-stakes races in 2025, with liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring and the liberal-leaning court’s balance of power if up for grabs again. The election on April 1 follows the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election of liberal-leaning Justice Janet Protasiewicz, which flipped the balance of the court to a partisan 4-3 advantage in a key battleground state.
The 2023 election’s $56 million in spending shattered the national spending record for a judicial contest, but this year’s race is expected to surpass that amount.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
