Manitowoc court, on day after MLK Day, sentences woman to 3 years probation for 2020 hate crime in Walmart parking lot
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Fulfilling our obligation: This report is part of the Herald Times Reporter's mission to follow criminal cases from arrest to their conclusion.
MANITOWOC - A 50-year-old Manitowoc woman was sentenced Tuesday — the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day — to three years of probation in a case stemming from a 2020 hate crime that happened in the Manitowoc Walmart parking lot.
The sentence also calls for Cathleen A. Yauch to spend 90 days in county jail starting March 17, complete 50 hours of community service and write an apology letter to be delivered to the victim by her probation agent so she can maintain no contact with the victim or their family.
Yauch was arrested Sept. 12, 2020, when police suspected her of leaving a red card modeled to look like a hunting license and included at least one racial slur.
A photo of the card posted on social media by Lakeshore's United Visionaries — a Manitowoc group that works to celebrate and uplift the lives of Black, Indigenous and people of color in the lakeshore area — showed it was designed to look like a license to hunt Black people.
Yauch was charged with felony terrorist threats and bail jumping in 2020. In a plea hearing Oct. 21, 2022, the terrorist threats charge was amended to disorderly conduct and Yauch was convicted of two counts of disorderly conduct and two counts of felony bail jumping.
During the sentencing hearing Tuesday in Manitowoc County Court, Yauch's attorney, Michael Turner, argued Yauch has shown remorse for her actions since she was arrested and has been supporting individuals in her community while she has been out on bail.
Several people gave character testimonies on Yauch's behalf, including one man who said Yauch spends a lot of her free time helping him with errands and chores around the house.
Judge Mark Rohrer said he factored those testimonies into his decision, but at the end of the day, Yauch committed a racist act he believed needed a consequence.
"Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day," Rohrer said. "It's a day where the country celebrates a Black man for his peaceful race relations. ... What Ms. Yauch did was stick a knife right through that. Her behavior was unacceptable."
Yauch was sentenced to state prison, but that was stayed and she was given three years of probation instead.
Online court records show Yauch has been convicted of crimes in several cases going as far back as 2006 — including felony forgery and misdemeanor child neglect.
Yauch was convicted of four counts of possessing a firearm as a felon in May 2022. In that case, her sentence was withheld and she was given three years of probation.
More: Manitowoc school referendum to ask for $61.7M in increased spending limits over the next five years
Contact reporter Alisa Schafer at aschafer@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlisaMSchafer.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc woman who left racist tag on car at Walmart sentenced
