Schimel disputes claims in DAGA-backed ad

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel is disputing a new ad that claims he was soft on child molesters.

DAGA Wisconsin People's Lawyer Project, a group backed by the Democratic Attorneys General Association, launched a spot Tuesday claiming that when Schimel was a Waukesha County prosecutor he repeatedly cut plea deals with child molesters, blamed underage sexual assault victims for having bad judgment and his office offered a plea deal to a man caught with child pornography after the man's attorney gave Schimel a campaign contribution.

Schimel's campaign issued a statement late Wednesday afternoon saying Schimel didn't handle two of the five child molester cases the ad cites, he was simply describing how the underage victims felt and Schimel never reduced the charge in the child pornography case.