Ex-SG principal pleads guilty to sex charge

From the Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Ex-SG principal pleads guilty to sex charge
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

MILWAUKEE – A Milwaukee County prosecutor has agreed to seek a 1 1/2-year prison sentence for former Spring Grove School principal Daniel Markofski, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to committing a sex act with a 16-year-old girl.

Markofski, 47, appeared in Milwaukee County Court to plead guilty to two felony counts of exposing a child to harmful material and a misdemeanor for committing a sex act with a child 16 or older.

Markofski was charged in April, after police said they found him watching pornography with two teenage girls at a Super-8 Motel in Glendale, Wis. The girls, now ages 16 and 17, were in various states of undress, according to police reports.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years and nine months in prison. However, his guilty plea is part of a bargain with prosecutors, who agreed to ask a judge to sentence him to one and a half years in prison and undergo one and a half years of extended supervision, “in exchange for taking responsibility,” said Chris Quinn, assistant district attorney.

“When courts determine the sentence, they have to determine the nature of the offense, the character of the offender and the need to protect the the community,” Quinn said.

Markofski’s sentence is now up to Judge John Franke, who presided over court Tuesday. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

After Markofski completes his sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender for the next 15 years, Quinn said.

Markofski was removed from his post as principal at Spring Grove Elementary after his arrest in April. After the incident, Nippersink District 2 officials denied Markofski’s resignation request and fired him.

In June, the district school board tightened hiring policies by requiring new employees in the district to pass a mandatory drug test. When police discovered Markofski and the two girls, they were investigating a marijuana odor coming from their motel room.

School officials were aware of Markofski’s guilty plea Tuesday, but declined to comment on his decision to forgo jury trial and accept a plea bargain.

“That’s between him and the courts,” District 2 Superintendent Dan Oest said. “He had to wrestle with that decision. That wasn’t anything related to the district.”

Parents had mixed reactions to news of the plea bargain.

“I would hope rather than a jail sentence he would seek professional help,” said Donna Jensen, a mother of a third-grade student at Spring Grove Elementary. “It’s whether he learns his lesson or not.”

Karen Barnes, a mother of two Nippersink Middle School students who previously had attended Spring Grove Elementary, expressed surprise over the short sentence to be requested by prosecutors.

“That’s it? I think that stinks,” Barnes said. “He should be in there for a long time."