Police say a Racine mother is facing 17 counts of truancy for not getting her 10-year-old child to school for at least 88 days of school between October 2012 and April 2013.
Jane Belasic, 37, was charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court with 17 counts of misdemeanor failure/causing a child to attend school. If convicted, she faces 90 days in jail and/or up to $1,000 in fines for each count. All told Belasic may face up to 1,530 days in jail - just over four years - and up to $17,000 in fines.
She was also charged with driving without a valid license as a second offense in three years from a February traffic stop. Court records indicate two warrants for her arrest were issued after Belasic missed a couple of court dates.
According to the criminal complaint pertaining to the truancy charges, officials with Racine Unified referred the situation involving Belasic and her child to the Racine County District Attorney's office because efforts made to get Belasic to cooperate failed.
"... attempts have been made to meet with the defendant and have been unsuccessful because the defendant has not cooperated or have meet with the defendant but the truancy problem has not improved," the complaint reads.
More, the district contends they have offered to modify curriculum and to evaluate the child to determine if there's an underlying cause for the truancy.
"However, to date, such measures have been unsuccessful in correcting the child's truancy problem," the statement reads.
District spokesperson Stacy Tapp told our media partners at WISN 12 News that the district is following procedure.
"We follow state statute; of course we want kids to attend school every day, so we follow guidelines. If a student is not showing up for school, there's specific guidelines we have to follow," she said.
Racine County Assistant District Attorney Tricia Hanson told WISN reporter Christina Palladino her office just wants to be sure the child gets an education.
"A case like this, we are interested in prosecuting because we need to intervene on this child's behalf, so he gets his education," she said.
During her initial appearance Wednesday, Belasic was assigned a $500 signature bond with the condition that her child attend school every day class is in session.
On the single misdemeanor count of operating without a license, second offense within three years, Belasic could face up to 30 days in jail and/or fines up to $300.
According to that criminal complaint, Mount Pleasant police were on routine patrol last February and were running random license plates amongst the traffic. Officers say Belasic's vehicle registration came back as current but her license came back as suspended.
Police initiated a traffic stop and discovered the passenger was the registered owner with the suspended status. The driver - later identified as Belasic - admitted to not having a valid license, the complaint reads.
When officers ran Belasic's license information, the hit came back as expired and as a second offense within three years.
Court Commissioner Alice Rudebusch gave Belasic a $300 signature bond with the condition that she drive only if properly licensed.
Belasic will next be in court on July 30 for both cases.
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