Agreement reached in 29-year-old abuse case

EAU CLAIRE — A plea appears likely in a local abuse case that is nearly three decades old.

Howard Huskey, 63, was charged in 1995 with three counts of second degree sexual assault of a child. The filing, made as a criminal complaint/warrant, was all there was in the case until June, when authorities in Iowa found and arrested Huskey.

During a status conference Wednesday Huskey's attorney told the court a plea agreement has been reached, which means the trial scheduled for November is not needed. That led the court to schedule a plea hearing for next week.

According to the criminal complaint, the case began when Eau Claire police were contacted by the county's department of human services. Two teens had accused Huskey of sexual abuse.

The first told investigators Huskey occasionally slept at her house after getting into fights with the woman he lived with. One night he came into her bedroom, rubbed her back, then left. When she awoke later, Huskey was rubbing her buttocks. He laid down beside her and attempted to kiss her, leaving after she resisted.

There was a witness to the incident. The girl had a friend sleeping over, and she awakened her after Huskey left the second time. The friend backed up the account, saying she had been awake when Huskey was in the room.

The second accuser told police she was babysitting and fell asleep on the couch. Huskey entered the home through a back door. When she awoke Huskey was kissing her and fondling her breasts. He left, and she spent the rest of the time babysitting in the room of the children she was caring for, after making sure every entrance was locked.

The charges are Class C felonies. Under Wisconsin law that means they carry the potential for up to 40 years in prison on each count and fines of up to $100,000 apiece. The plea agreement, while not yet known, will likely result in a lesser sentence.

Huskey remains in the Eau Claire County Jail, records show.