Accused of "sexting" 14-year-old girl, Michael Gawlitta will stand trial
Michael Gawlitta
MILWAUKEE CO. (WITI) -- 42-year-old Michael Gawlitta will stand trial in a case in which he is accused of inappropriate communication with a 14-year-old Texas girl.
Gawlitta faces three charges of “causing a child between the ages of 13 and 18 years of age to view or listen to sexual activity.”
Gawlitta is the husband of Tammy Gawlitta -- who lost her life in a crash during a snowstorm in December of 2013 -- on I-43 at Highway 100. Prosecutors believe Gawlitta's alleged communication with the 14-year-old girl started just weeks after his wife's death.
A criminal complaint in the case says the 14-year-old girl’s mother reported to Weslaco Police in Texas that she had seized a cell phone from her daughter. The complaint says the girl’s mother discovered that her daughter had been speaking for over three hours with someone listed as “Michael” — with a Milwaukee telephone number. The girl’s mother was able to trace the phone number to Michael Gawlitta.
The complaint says the girl’s mother opened a messenger application on the girl’s phone, and discovered a contact between the girl and Michael Gawlitta. In his profile picture, the man appeared to be in his mid-40s.
According to the complaint, the girl’s mother discovered Gawlitta had sent the girl videos of him engaging in a sex act. Additionally, the girl’s mother told police she discovered the two were discussing sexual topics.
The complaint says the girl’s mother was able to locate Gawlitta’s Facebook page, which shows him with his deceased wife (Tammy Gawlitta) and four children.
Police in Texas discovered six videos on the girl’s cell phone in which Gawlitta was seen engaging in a sex act, and whispering the girl’s name — according to the complaint.
“I never want to see a man from the waist down, completely exposed, calling out my daughter’s name. My first reaction was I was disheartened. I was crying. You know, I was upset. I just felt weak in the knees. I couldn’t sleep the whole night,” the girl’s mother told FOX6 News on Tuesday, April 8th.
Police met with the girl in this case, who told them she “met” Gawlitta via her phone’s messenger application. According to the complaint, the girl told police she decided to talk to Gawlitta because she likes baseball, and his name on the application was “Mister Baseball.”
The complaint says the girl told officials Gawlitta knew how old she was — saying she told him her age after a few days of talking. The girl says Gawlitta asked her if she was okay with him being “three times older than she was,” according to the complaint.
The complaint says the girl told police she asked Gawlitta to send her the videos — and once he did, she says he asked her if she would ever do that for him — and when she said no, the girl says Gawlitta felt bad.
The girl says Gawlitta never asked to meet her, according to the complaint.
Each charge Gawlitta is facing comes with a punishment of six years maximum in prison, and/or a maximum of $10,000 in fines.