The Mishicot man accused of sexually abusing his daughter is due back in court today (May 11th).
38-year-old Travis L. Besaw remains in the Manitowoc County Jail on a $500,000 cash bail as he faces charges of Sexual Assault of a Child, Repeated Sexual Assault of the Same Child, Incest, and Strangulation and Suffocation.
He will be in front of Judge Anthony Lambrecht at 1:30 p.m. for his initial appearance.
Besaw is accused of sexually assaulting his daughter numerous times over the past 2 years, starting when she was 14 years old.
It was alleged during his bail hearing on Friday that he was giving her drugs and alcohol in order to continue the assaults, and threatened to turn her in to the police if she didn’t let him.
The initial appearance is the first big step in the criminal justice process.
It is the defendant’s first time in front of a judge, as court commissioners conduct bail hearings.
This is followed by a preliminary hearing, where a judge determines if there is enough evidence to continue the legal process.
After that determination is made, the defendant will appear for their arraignment, where they enter a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest, which is when they admit there is enough evidence to convict but do not want to admit guilt.
If the defendant pleads not guilty, both sides will submit evidence and try to suppress other evidence during pre-trial proceedings, which lead up to the trial.
