Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Announces DOJ Files Petition Under Chapter 980 to Commit Tanon To Treatment

MADISON - Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced today that the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a petition under the state's sexual predator law against a Dane County man.

The petition was filed earlier this month in Dane County Circuit Court and alleged that Miguel A. Tanon, age 31, is a sexually violent person and should be committed for treatment.  A probable cause hearing is scheduled for February 22, 2007, before Judge Michael Nowakowski.

Under Wisconsin law, a person may be subject to a civil commitment when the person has been convicted of a sexually violent offense, has a mental disorder, and is dangerous to others because the mental disorder makes it likely he or she will commit further acts of sexual violence.  A civil commitment is defined in Wisconsin law as commitment to the custody and care of the Department of Health and Family Services for control, care and treatment until the person is no longer considered sexually violent.

Chapter 980 of the Wisconsin Statues relates to the control, care and treatment of sexually violent persons.

According to the DOJ petition, Tanon was convicted in Dane County in 1994 of sexually assaulting six different adolescent girls, ranging in age from 12 to 15 years old.  Tanon is scheduled for release from the Dodge Correctional Institution on February 13, 2007.

The state's petition argues that Tanon suffers from mental conditions that predispose him to engage in acts of sexual violence.  The petition also alleges that Tanon is dangerous as his mental disorders make it likely that he will engage in future acts of sexual violence.

Assistant Attorneys General Barbara Oswald and Thomas Storm represent the state in this case.