JANESVILLE — A Beloit man has been charged with repeatedly sexually and physically abusing his ex-girlfriend’s daughter over a three-year span.
Dwight Devon Cloak, 37, faces charges of repeated sexual assault of a child and physical abuse of a child, repeated acts causing bodily harm. Those are a Class B and Class E felony, respectively. The former is punishable by up to 60 years in prison, while the latter carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
He had already been in the Columbia County Jail awaiting court dates on charges of knowingly failing to notify school of sex offender status (1st), possessing a firearm as convicted felon and drug charges.
According to a criminal complaint, Cloak allegedly started the abuse in October 2014 when the victim was two years old and ended in July 2017 when the victim was five years old.
The victim was allegedly told to lie on a bed to watch YouTube on an iPad while being sexually assaulted.
Instances of physical abuse included hair-pulling, “smacking her” and being struck with a belt to the point marks were left. Cloak reportedly told the victim to not tell anyone otherwise “there would be consequences” and that “he would do much worse to her or kill her mom.” The complaint states that when the victim would tell Cloak to stop touching her, he would grab her tightly by the wrists and shake her, causing pain.
The victim also alleged Cloak sexually and physically assaulted his own daughter as well, including at the same time Cloak assaulted the statutory victim.
According to the complaint, there was also a moment when the victim reported the abuse to her biological father and the biological father fired a gun at Cloak, but missed. According to the criminal complaint, the biological father was arrested by the Town of Madison Police Department in that incident, which took place in 2016.
The victim’s mother ended the relationship when she saw Cloak strike the victim with a belt, leaving marks. She did not report the incident but wanted to get the victim out of the situation.
When interviewed by an investigator, the victim’s biological father said he was concerned that Cloak was allowed around the victim despite being a registered sex offender.
According to the complaint, the victim has suffered from suicidal ideations and has harmed herself. She reportedly suffers from anxiety, which she attributed to the experience with Cloak.
The victim reported this to a school resource officer, who, according to the criminal complaint, had become a trusted adult for the victim.
An arrest warrant has been issued, but as of press time, he was not listed in custody of Rock County Jail.
