Lifetime GPS monitoring in Wisconsin challenged in court

MILWAUKEE — A federal appeals court is considering a challenge to a Wisconsin law requiring lifetime GPS monitoring for some convicted sex offenders.

The state is appealing a federal judge's ruling that the ankle bracelet requirement violates the constitutional rights of 72-year-old Michael Belleau, who spent 15 years in prison for child sexual assaults committed in the 1980s. He was then civilly committed to Sandridge Secure Treatment Center as a sexually violent person, and sued the state after his 2010 release.

Belleau's lawyers argue the GPS requirement amounts to retroactive punishment. Wisconsin Public Radio reports the state argues it's not a punishment but a regulation to monitor offenders' movements.

Assistant Attorney General Anthony Russomanno told appellate judges the lifetime requirement applies to a small subset of offenders and is meant to deter future crimes.