Green Bay Reporter

A Brown County judge declined to accept a plea agreement entered on behalf of a former Green Bay Correctional Institution officer, setting the stage for the officer to face trial in a hate crime case.

Shane Nolan recently appeared before the court for a hearing on charges of substantial battery - intend bodily harm (hate crime) and disorderly conduct (hate crime). A plea deal could have lessened the severity of the charges or potential prison sentence he could be facing.

In rejecting the arrangement, the judge set a jury trial for Feb. 15, where Nolan will stand trial on the original charges.

Nolan is accused of throwing Dessiray Koss into a fire pit during a bonfire party at her home on July 3, 202, WBAY reported. During the incident, Koss said Nolan, “unprompted”, called her a homophobic slur, then grabbed her by the ribs and picked her up before throwing her into the fire. She said when she crawled out of the pit the two engaged in a physical confrontation that ended with Nolan allegedly choking Koss.

Nolan was arrested and charged with a felony and misdemeanor with hate crime modifiers, WBAY reported. He was facing up to 10 years in prison and, at the hearing, it was assumed that the judge would accept Nolan’s plea deal based on the lack on concrete motivation behind the act and if it was a hate crime or just drunken actions.

During an interview, Nolan said he was drunk during the alleged incident and that he had been blacking out, only to remember being hit by several people, WBAY reported. He told the officer he did not remember anyone being thrown into the fire and denied attacking Koss or using a homophobic slur.

As part of the proceedings, LGBTQ+ advocacy group Diverse and Resilient spokesperson Nick Ross asked the court to not go forward with the plea deal and for the case to go to trial. Group officials added Koss is still recovering from first, second and third degree burns and will undoubtedly be left to deal with the mental trauma stemming from the incident for the rest of her life.

Holly Koss, the victim’s sister, released a statement before the hearing stating: “A person who commits a crime so terrible in which they hold a person in a fire because of their sexual orientation has some serious issues that will now cost his victim trauma for the rest of her life. This is a hate crime and sixty days in jail is not enough justice for the victim when originally the charges included a felony and hate crime modifiers. Accepting this plea will be a horrific choice and sends a terrible message to victims everywhere."