Man, 76, charged with assaulting girl years ago

A 76-year-old man who as a 4-H volunteer befriended a girl at the Ozaukee County Fair nearly two decades ago was charged last week with sexually assaulting her over the course of three years starting in 2008 when she was about 13.

Richard M. Breest of Cedarburg faces felony charges of repeated sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of a child by a person who works or volunteers with children.

During a court hearing Monday, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams set Breest’s bail at $100,000 and ordered him not to have contact with children younger than 18 or his alleged victim.

The charges are based on the statements of a woman, now 28, who came forward with her allegations two weeks ago, telling an Ozaukee Sheriff’s Office investigator that Breest engaged in sex acts with her that ranged from groping to intercourse 30 to 40 times when she was between the ages of 11 and 17, according to a criminal complaint.

Several of the allegations are supported by an April 24, 2024, phone conversation the woman had with Breest, which was set up and recorded by authorities, during which he talked with her about the things he did to her, adding, “You were a very well put together young lady,” the complaint states.

The woman said she joined 4-H when she was 9 and participated in the club’s horse and pony project. She said she met Breest, a 4-H horse and pony project volunteer, while working with him at a food booth on the Ozaukee County Fairgrounds in Cedarburg.

The woman said Breest initially made “adult jokes” focused on her, and, when she was 11, began groping her by putting money down her shirt, then grabbing her breast as he removed it and by slapping her butt, according to the complaint.

When she was 13 or 14 and had a cell phone, the woman said, Breest would text her and then come to her house when her parents were gone. After one of several sexual encounters at her home, she said, Breest “talked to her about horses for a while, acted like everything was normal and then left,” the complaint states.

The woman said Breest also drove her to his farm in Slinger, where he had sex with her, adding that every time they were in his truck he fondled her.

The woman said she cut off contact with Breest when she was 16 or 17 after he told her that her younger sister was very pretty. She said she became very protective of her sister and may have even threatened to kill Breest because she was afraid he would also assault her, according to the complaint.

The woman resumed contact with Breest last week when she called him and authorities recorded the conversation.

During the call, Breest said he gets checked for AIDS and hepatitis every six months and talked about taking a female not named in the complaint to a clinic to see if she was pregnant after they had sex and he discovered she didn’t use birth control, the complaint states.

The woman told Breest she remembers the day she was working with him in the food booth at the fairgrounds and he told her to always carry a condom in her purse because men usually don’t have them. He replied, “That’s it. You got it. I’m glad you remember that. Makes me feel good. I told that to my daughters,” according to the complaint.

Breest said he still had photos of the woman as a girl, some of which are apparently lewd, on his phone, and when she asked if he remembered particular sexual encounters they had, he said he did, sometimes offering additional details, the complaint states.

When the woman asked Breest, “Did you ever tell anyone about us?,” he replied, “Hell no. Honey, I’m slow but I’m not stupid,” according to the complaint.

Court records indicate Breest was arrested Sunday and was being held in the county jail this week.

Repeated sexual assault of a child is punishable by a maximum 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision.

Sexual assault of a child by a person who works or volunteers with children is punishable by a maximum three years in prison and three years of extended supervision.