Assailant in teen’s rape at DOC house sentenced to 15 years in prison
MADISON, Wis. — A man involved in the gang rape of a teenager at a state Department of Corrections halfway house last year was sentenced to a total of 25 years supervision, according to court records.
James L. Phillips, 33, was sentenced Monday in Dane County Court to 15 years in state prison and 10 years of extended supervision.
Phillips pleaded guilty in July to felony second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim, according to online records.
Phillips and four others were accused of repeatedly assaulting a 17-year-old girl at a home on St. Paul Avenue in the town of Blooming Grove in July 2016 . The home was designated as emergency housing for sex offenders who were under DOC supervision, and News 3 has reported they saw only limited in-person visits in the time before the assault took place.
That 17-year-old girl committed suicide in a group home in August 2016 , about a month after the rape.
In court, Phillips was also ordered not to have any contact with minors without prior written approval of agent.
Reginald H. Patton, 27, and Nathan J. Thompson, 19, are co-defendants awaiting trial on charges in the case. Thompson was arraigned in Sept. 2016 and the court entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Patton was arraigned a month later, and the court also entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Trials were originally scheduled for November, but at a status conference Monday, their attorneys requested a later trial, which had not yet been set as of Tuesday, according to online records.
Phillips and two of the other men in the case are registered sex offenders.
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