Marshfield man convicted of exploiting 5-year-old girl to withdraw pleas

By Shereen Siewert, Wausau Pilot & Review

A 28-year-old Marshfield man accused of tying a young girl up with duct tape and assaulting her on multiple occasions, photographing the assaults, will withdraw his no contest pleas later this month on three felony charges.

Matthew E. Kinas faced charges of first-degree sexual assault of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, exposing a child to harmful material, possession of child pornography and causing mental health to a child during assaults that allegedly happened in 2018. The charges were filed in February 2022.

An investigation launched after a witness reported discovering the images on Kinas’ Google Drive account, according to the criminal complaint. Both photos and video files were located by investigators and involved a child who was between 5 and 6 years old at the time of the alleged assaults. Another image file involved a child that was 11 years old at the time the photo was taken. Police say Kinas was not a stranger to the children he allegedly assaulted.

During a plea hearing on May 2, Kinas pleaded no contest to two counts of sexual exploitation and a single charge of possessing child pornography. All other charges were dismissed but read into the record, and Circuit Judge Suzanne O’Neill declared Kinas guilty on the three felony charges to which he entered pleas.

In a no contest plea, a defendant does not admit or deny guilt but agrees not to contest the facts behind the charge, avoiding a factual admission of guilt. That leads to a conviction.

By pleading no contest in a criminal action, the defendant gains another benefit—namely that he or she avoids having a guilty plea used against them in another cause of action, such as a civil suit for damages.

During the plea hearing, Judge O’Neill set a sentencing date for June 28. But on June 2, online court records show Kinas’ attorney submitted a motion to withdraw his plea, and the sentencing hearing was subsequently changed to a motion hearing to allow the judge to hear arguments on the matter.

Kinas remains jailed on a $10,000 cash bond.