KENOSHA, Wis. — A John Doe petition filed more than five months ago by Kenosha County Eye Editor Kevin Mathewson has now resulted in criminal charges against former Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputy Frank D. McGrath. Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis formally charged McGrath Wednesday with two felony counts of misconduct in public office for allegedly using powerful law-enforcement surveillance systems, including FLOCK and Polaris, to surveil a fellow deputy who broke up with him. Each Class I felony carries a maximum sentence of 3½ years in prison and a $10,000 fine, meaning McGrath faces a combined maximum of seven years in prison and $20,000 in fines.

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The charges represent the culmination of a process that began publicly on March 6, when Mathewson filed a John Doe petition asking a Kenosha County judge to force scrutiny of conduct that had already been extensively documented by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. Mathewson’s petition specifically alleged that McGrath’s repeated personal use of FLOCK license-plate cameras and the Polaris squad-tracking system constituted felony misconduct in public office. At the time, records obtained by KCE showed McGrath had been permitted to resign through a negotiated separation agreement, while the matter had not been referred to the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office for criminal review.

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Sheriff David Zoerner (R) had declined to have McGrath’s conduct criminally investigated before KCE intervened. Zoerner was facing a tough re-election campaign and wanted McGrath not to face criminal charges.Mathewson learned in March that despite the Sheriff’s Office already having conducted an extensive internal investigation, the evidence had never been forwarded to Solis for a charging decision. Mathewson then provided the evidence himself through the John Doe process. Only later did Kenosha County arrange for the Racine County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an outside investigation.

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After Kenosha County Eye published this story, the sheriff directed Lieutenant Chase Forster to send out a press release just before 9:00 p.m. containing many false statements, including that the sheriff sought an independent third party investigation.

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The criminal complaint filed Wednesday largely confirms the central evidence KCE placed before the court months ago. According to prosecutors, a routine October 2025 audit by Kenosha County Sheriff’s Capt. Eric Klinkhammer discovered that McGrath conducted 16 to 17 FLOCK searches in approximately four hours on September 30, 2025, while off duty. McGrath allegedly labeled every search “Suspicious” while leaving the case-number field blank. The searches included filters for a Nissan, Illinois vehicles and ultimately the Illinois license plate belonging to the female deputy with whom McGrath had been involved. Prosecutors say there was no active law-enforcement investigation or legitimate law-enforcement purpose for searching her vehicle.

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The alleged conduct went substantially beyond FLOCK. Prosecutors say McGrath logged into the Sheriff’s Office Polaris system 40 separate times while off duty between July 18 and October 23, 2025, without a legitimate law-enforcement purpose, to monitor the woman while she worked. Polaris provides users with live GPS locations of squad cars and body-worn cameras. On one occasion, prosecutors allege McGrath contacted the woman while she was parked near another deputy and correctly identified both her location and the coworker sitting near her, telling her, “I know everything.”

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Prosecutors also cite text messages in which McGrath allegedly acknowledged lying about his FLOCK use and admitted his conduct had “got out of hand” and that he had “lost control.” Referring to the 17 plate searches, McGrath allegedly wrote that it made him “look really really bad.”

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KCE has learned that the fellow deputy did not wish to pursue a stalking prosecution. That decision was beneficial to McGrath because the allegations went considerably beyond database misuse and included claims that he drove past her Illinois home, monitored her whereabouts and continued attempting to obtain information about her after being placed on administrative leave. The criminal complaint says she ultimately sought a restraining order in Lake County, Illinois.

The evidence supporting the two misconduct charges, however, had already been extensively developed by Kenosha County before Mathewson filed his John Doe petition. KCE’s March 6 filing identified approximately 16 FLOCK searches and approximately 40 off-duty Polaris accesses and specifically argued that the conduct could constitute felony misconduct in public office. The criminal complaint filed Wednesday now alleges the same essential conduct: 16 to 17 FLOCK searches and 40 off-duty Polaris logins.

“I wish these charges would have been filed three or four months ago, because the evidence was overwhelming and had already been extensively reviewed by Kenosha County,” Mathewson said Wednesday. “But they have finally been filed, and that is what matters. Hopefully this sends a message to other law-enforcement officers that these incredibly powerful surveillance systems are not their personal toys. At a time when FLOCK cameras are already extremely controversial, the public needs to know that abusing them for personal purposes can have serious consequences.”

The case also illustrates the unusual but important role Wisconsin’s John Doe law can play when ordinary channels fail to produce a charging decision. After Mathewson filed his petition March 6, District 2 Chief Judge Wynne Laufenberg (D) on March 11 ordered Solis to either file charges against McGrath or submit a written explanation explaining why he would not. When the original 90-day period passed in June, Solis asked the court for additional time to complete his review. Wednesday’s filing answers the central question raised by the John Doe petition: prosecutors now believe there is probable cause to charge McGrath with two felonies.

The McGrath prosecution also stands in sharp contrast to the handling of a similar FLOCK-abuse case in neighboring Racine County. Racine County Deputy Emil Ortiz was internally found to have repeatedly used FLOCK and other restricted law-enforcement databases for personal purposes involving his girlfriend’s former boyfriend. Ortiz was demoted from detective to deputy, suspended for 10 days without pay and reassigned to patrol after investigators substantiated numerous policy violations. Records showed Ortiz acknowledged the misconduct and waived his right to a hearing.

Mathewson later filed a separate John Doe petition seeking criminal scrutiny of Ortiz. Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson ultimately declined to prosecute Ortiz. KCE has reported that Hanson has taken the position that she will not prosecute law-enforcement officers merely for FLOCK-policy violations, a position that makes Wednesday’s McGrath charges particularly significant because prosecutors in Kenosha County are now treating alleged personal misuse of law-enforcement surveillance technology as felony misconduct in public office.

McGrath’s case also provides a concrete example of a citizen using Wisconsin’s John Doe statute to force review of alleged criminal conduct that otherwise had not been presented to prosecutors. When Mathewson filed the petition in March, the Sheriff’s Office’s own investigation had already uncovered the FLOCK and Polaris evidence. KCE’s petition put that evidence before the court and asked for a determination of whether McGrath’s conduct constituted a crime.

“This is exactly why the John Doe statute exists,” Mathewson said. “A citizen shouldn’t have to be a prosecutor or wear a badge to ask a court to look at compelling evidence that a crime may have occurred. In this case, the Sheriff’s Office had the evidence, but the district attorney didn’t have it until KCE got involved. Five months later, there are now two felony charges.”

The newly filed complaint contains additional evidence obtained after KCE initiated the John Doe proceeding. Investigators executed a Google search warrant on March 17 and obtained records that prosecutors say included searches by McGrath for terms including “signs of obsession,” “codependent relationship,” “kenosha county loudermill hearing,” “kenosha county brady list,” “wisconsin jury instructions for stalking,” and searches concerning the female deputy’s personal information.

McGrath, 45, of Salem, is charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court case 2026CF001160. Count one alleges misconduct in public office between July 18 and October 23, 2025. Count two alleges misconduct in public office on September 30, 2025. Both are Class I felonies.

A summons was issued Wednesday ordering McGrath to appear for his initial appearance on September 17 at 1 p.m. in Pretrial Building Courtroom 157 before Court Commissioner Daniel E. Kellum.