A Milwaukee children’s court judge and father of two with ties to “Drag Queen Story Hour” was arrested after allegedly being caught with videos showing children being raped, officials said.
Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Brett Blomme, 38, was charged with seven counts of possession of child pornography on Wednesday, a day after his arrest. Each count carries a maximum fine of $100,000 and 25 years in prison, or both, and each has a mandatory minimum sentence of three years of initial confinement. Blomme is the former president of the Cream City Foundation, which hosts “Drag Queen Story Hour,” a children’s event in which drag queens read to children.
“The allegations are alarming,” Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said in a statement. “The reports of the arrest came as a complete surprise.”
Blomme allegedly uploaded several images of child pornography through a messaging app in October and November 2020, including videos of male children being raped.
Authorities, according to the charging documents, began the investigation in February after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Kik messaging app user “dommasterbb” uploaded videos consistent with child pornography through the app 27 times.
The special agent assigned to Blomme’s case “received content and subscriber information for the ‘[email protected]’ Google account. According to the subscriber information, the name of this Google account user was listed as ‘Brett Blomme’ with a date of birth of ‘June 11, 1982.’ A recovery email address of ‘[email protected]’ was also listed on the account,” according to charging documents.
Two of the images were allegedly uploaded from government buildings.
“Due to the ongoing investigation and pending case, I am unable to comment,” Milwaukee County Chief Judge Mary Triggiano said in a statement, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “Judge Blomme’s court calendar will be covered by another judge as needed, starting (Wednesday).”
Blomme was elected to the court during the spring of 2020 after he defeated incumbent Circuit Court Judge Paul Dedinsky.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Prior to his time as a judge, Blomme was the head of the zoning appeals board for the city of Milwaukee, a position he reached by appointment from the mayor.
Drag Queen Story Hour Milwaukee Executive Director Jonathan Hamilt distanced his organization from the Cream City Foundation and Blomme.
Drag Queen Story Hour Milwaukee “has never been run by” either, he told the Washington Examiner, adding that “neither have ever participated in planning, organizing, hosting, or performing at any of our events.” Blomme “has never held a title or position within our organization ever,” Hamilt said.
“Cream City Foundation has only ever been a fiscal sponsor that allows DQSH Milwaukee to give & receive funds as a nonprofit. Asides from financials, they have had no part in DQSH Milwaukee & DQSH National,” he added. “As the leaders of DQSH Milwaukee & DQSH National we absolutely condemn pedophilia. We are angry and outraged by Brett’s actions. Pedophilia has no place in the LGBT community and no place in society as a whole.”
The Cream City Foundation did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
