Prison term for allowing child sex assault

Alleged perpetrator still awaiting trial
By: 
NEW Media Staff

An Oconto woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for turning a blind eye to sexual abuse of children under her care.

During an appearance May 5 in Oconto County Circuit Court, Sarah L. Alberts, 41, received the 12-year prison term, followed by 10 years of extended supervision, for chronic neglect of a child with the consequence that a sexual offense was committed. She pleaded no contest to the charge Feb. 23. Marinette County Judge James A. Morrison gave Alberts credit for 988 days already served in the Oconto County Jail.

According to the criminal complaint, Alberts was the longtime girlfriend of David SanRoman, 47, a convicted sex offender, and had children with him. SanRoman is currently awaiting trial, charged as a persistent repeater with four counts of first-degree child sex assault and one count of second-degree child sex assault, for incidents allegedly to have occurred when the alleged victim was 12, 13 and 16 years old.

A three-day jury trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 14, with a final pre-trial conference set for July 20. SanRoman has been on the Sex Offender Registry since he was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child in 2004.

Oconto County authorities were alerted to the current allegations in 2020, when the girl’s father reported text messages between the girl and Alberts about an incident in which SanRoman allegedly tried to have sex with her.

“I’m so sorry, I’ll take care of this,” Alberts texted back, the complaint said. “I figured he’d tried something … He’s got a serious problem.”

Investigators determined there had been several incidents dating back to 2017, when the girl was 12, and Alberts occasionally kicked him out of the house but kept letting him back in.

The complaint quotes Alberts as saying SanRoman “is a good dad other than the ‘stuff he does’” and that she couldn’t kick him out of the house permanently because of the younger children they have together.

In handing down the prison sentence, Morrison ordered that Alberts will be prohibited from living with any children under age 18 once she is released from prison and placed under extended supervisions. She must maintain absolute sobriety and enter into, participate in and successfully complete any assessments, evaluations and/or treatment programs as directed by her corrections agent.

Alberts originally was charged with harboring and aiding a felon, as well as failure to act to stop the sexual assault of a child. Those charges were dismissed but read into the record as part of the plea agreement.