Can he be stopped? A serial abuser is back in jail, but for how long?

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- He's battered the women and children in his life for decades. Now an Oak Creek man is back in jail. But for how long?

You might think the mullet alone ought to be a crime, but this man doesn't need any help racking up convictions.
When it comes to domestic violence, Tom Herro is one of the state's most prolific villains.

"He's not gonna stop," said Bridgit Walters, Herro's ex-wife.

Herro is  a heating and air conditioning repairman with a chilling track record  of battering and abusing his wives, girlfriends, even his own children.

"He had punched me in the face one time on the way to school," Amy Weems, Hero's daughter said.

Amy Weems says she was seven when her dad held a gun to her mom's head and threatened to kill her.

"Terrified. And have been for many years," Weems said.

Our investigation exposed Herro's decades long record of family violence and a criminal justice system that can't seem to correct his behavior.

"I don't believe they take him serious," Walters said.

Bridgit Walters was Herro's third of five wives, and the first to speak out publicly against him. But it's what happened after our investigation that has her angry and more than a little bit worried.

"It irritates me that he did that, that he still feels after all these years that he can intimidate me," Walters said.

On May 23rd, Herro was supposed to be sentenced for his latest episode of spousal abuse, this time against wife number five. But when his case was called he was nowhere to be found, so the judge issued a warrant for his arrest. Herro's lawyer told the judge he didn't know where his client was, but Bridgit says she knows.

On the very afternoon when Herro was supposed to be in court, Bridget  got a phone call from her sister, who had just bumped into the defendant at a Speedway gas station in West Allis.

"And she's like, 'You better watch out, cause Tom's gonna get you,'" Walters said.

According a statement Walters gave to West Allis Police, Herro said he was going to "get Bridgit," while pointing to a tattoo of a grim reaper on his arm.

"At that exact time when you're supposed to be in court, making threats," Walters said. "To me, it's kind of mind-blowing," she said.

So Bridgit went to police and she called his probation officer.

"She never called me back," Walters said.

Tom Herro is still on state supervision for choking his teenaged son in 2010.  He was also on probation last fall, when he was arrested for abusing wife number five. Instead of sending him back to prison, his probation officer ordered him to take a 90-day course on domestic violence. And a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections tells Fox6 completing that program was  a positive step toward Herro becoming a better citizen.

"He's already had these classes. He's had these classes, I believe, 3 or 4 times. And it did no good," Walters said.

It was after he completed the course that he posted bail and was released earlier this year. And once again, it seems, he's thumbing his nose at the system. Herro is under court order not to have any contact with his wife, but last month, we found them riding his Harley together. And court records now show that Herro went on a camping trip with his wife just days before he was due to be sentenced for abusing her.

In fact, the day before sentencing, Herro's step-daughter went to Muskego Police, concerned that her mother had not come home from the camping trip and fearing that she was in danger. Later that day, Herro called the state to say he was "up north" and his car had broken down.

But if Herro really was stuck in the Northwoods, how did he get to West Allis, where he was allegedly making new threats? And why  didn't he bother to turn himself in to police for another 10 days?

"He's letting them know that, 'I'm gonna do what I want, and you're not gonna tell me what I can do,'" Walters said.

Herro is back in custody. And while the mullet may be gone, his victims say the man  will never change.

"He's gonna be 60 in September," Weems said. "There's no changing Tom Herro anymore. You know?"

Herro has not responded to multiple requests for an interview. He is currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail. He is due to be sentenced July 2nd for misdemeanor battery.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee district attorney's office is investigating whether it can file additional bail jumping charges for violating his no contact order. So far, no new charges have been filed.