By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — Trial dates have been set for a paramedic and firefighter who resigned from the Wausau Fire Department amid allegations he sexually assaulted a patient in the back of an ambulance.
Clifford “CJ” Heiser was arrested Sept. 25, 2017 by Wausau police after receiving DNA results in an investigation that began 12 days earlier. Heiser was transporting the 29-year-old Wausau-area woman to a local hospital in an ambulance when the alleged assault took place.
The Wausau Fire Department placed Heiser on administrative leave when the investigation began. Heiser resigned after DNA results showed his saliva on the woman’s breast.
Heiser, a four-year veteran of the Wausau Fire Department, faces charges of third degree sexual assault, fourth degree sexual assault and misconduct in office. Two of the four charges are felonies.
On Nov. 13, Kenneth Andraski, a defense attorney representing Heiser, filed a motion to suppress the DNA evidence along with any statements Heiser made to investigators, claiming police did not issue a proper Miranda warning beforehand.
But at a motion hearing Friday, Andraski withdrew that motion and also withdrew his request for a change of venue in the case.
Circuit Judge Greg Huber will hear the case in a four-day jury trial set to begin Sept. 17. A pool of 45 potential jurors will be called.
In a news conference in September 2015 Wausau Fire Chief Tracey Kujawa vowed to implement both short- and long-term solutions for the protection of future patients and Wausau Fire Department personnel.
During the same news conference Wausau Deputy Chief of Police Ben Bliven acknowledged the difficult nature of sexual assault allegations and the courage victims must have to come forward with a complaint.
“Our charge is to find the truth of the matter, no matter where it leads us,” Bliven said.
The Wausau Police Department investigated the alleged assault.
Heiser is free on a $2,500 cash bond.
