WILLMAR -- A 28-year-old Willmar man made his first appearance Friday on a second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge for allegedly touching a 7-year-old boy's genitals.
Unconditional bail was set at $100,000 for Anthony Scott Bratsch. Conditional bail was set at $20,000, provided he have no contact with the boy or his family and be excluded from their home.
Bratsch's next appearance in Kandiyohi County District Court is July 28.
According to the complaint, Willmar police were called to a home in the city on June 16 by a man who said his son had been sexually abused by a neighbor. The man, his wife and another man informed police that the boy told them that Bratsch had touched him after he asked the boy to help him in the yard.
Bratsch spoke with officers who confirmed he asked the kid to help clean up wood chips and offered an ice cream treat for the assistance. He first denied touching the boy, then admitted to grabbing the kid's shorts, and then claimed he was joking.
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The boy was interviewed June 24 by a detective and a county social worker and said that Bratsch had pulled down his pants and poked his genitals with his hand, and then gave him the ice cream treat and told him not to tell anyone what he had done.
