KENOSHA — Frank McGrath, a former Kenosha County sheriff's deputy, appeared in court Thursday for the first time on two felony misconduct-in-office charges. Court records show one of the charges is for allegedly misusing the department's Flock Safety license plate-reading technology. The second charge is for allegedly misusing a separate police GPS tool that tracks squad vehicles.
Prosecutors say McGrath used both tools to track the movements of an ex-girlfriend who is also a Kenosha County sheriff's deputy.
Internal investigative records obtained by TMJ4 show an internal audit caught 16 Flock license plate database searches in questionwere caught by an internal audit —all occurring over four hours while McGrath was off-duty last September.
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The victim's restraining order petition revealed that McGrath had driven past her home in Waukegan, Illinois, on the same day he ran her vehicle through Flock and questioned her regarding who had access to her car and where she or another person was heading.
McGrath declined to answer questions as he entered the courtroom for the first time as a defendant.
District Attorney Xavier Solis said the victim made her wishes clear ahead of the hearing.
"We did receive information from the victim in this case. The victim indicated that they want no contact with herself or her children," Solis said.
The judge granted a no-contact order and gave McGrath a signature bond, meaning he does not have to pay bail as long as he appears at future court hearings.
McGrath and his attorney declined to comment after the hearing.
When asked why it took a year to press charges, Solis defended the timeline.
"We have to make sure that we have all our ducks in order, make sure that we cross all our Ts, dot our Is. So it was an ongoing investigation," Solis said.
McGrath is the 4th officer in southeastern Wisconsin to face criminal charges for allegedly misusing Flock Safety's database.
Solis is back to prosecuting cases — including this one — 2 days after his law license was reinstated. The State's Office of Lawyer Regulation says the 24-hour suspension came after Solis failed to cooperate with investigations into alleged misconduct. Solis declined to disclose details on the alleged misconduct.
When asked whether Kenosha County residents can trust him moving forward, Solis addressed the scrutiny his office has faced.
"I've been under scrutiny even before becoming the district attorney of this county," Solis said. "There are still individuals that feel that I shouldn't be here, but the people of Kenosha put me here."
McGrath is due back in court next month for a preliminary hearing.
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