A 28 year old Superior man has been arrested for allegedly committing 2nd Degree Sexual Assault.

Craig Mehtala, was arrested Friday for an incident that occurred on August 29th at 2:21am at Wade Bowl.

At the time of the August 29th assault, officers were called to the park on the report of a person yelling for help.

When they arrived they saw Mehtala leaving the Wade Bowl area, and he denied hearing anybody yelling for help and officers could not find a victim at that time.

About 20 minutes later officers were called to a residence a near Wade Bowl where a female victim reported having been sexually assaulted a short time earlier near Wade Bowl.

Since the time of the assault, physical evidence was sent to the State Crime Lab in Madison, where DNA analysis linked Mehtala to the August 29th sexual assault.

Mehtala pleaded not guilty and a $750 cash bail was ordered.

Late Monday afternoon the Superior Police Department received lab results from another, unrelated, "stranger" sexual assault that occurred in Superior on June 21, 2009 at about 3:40 a.m. in the 800 Block of
Hammond Ave.

Physical evidence from that case had previously been analyzed by the State Crime Lab in Madison, and male DNA had been located but was unidentified.

Additionally, a Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) "hit" had been made linking the suspect in the June 21st Sexual Assault to an unsolved 2006 Sexual Assault in Burnett County.

Monday a search warrant was executed on behalf of the Burnett County Sheriff's Department by investigators with the Douglas County Sheriff's Department for a sample of Mehtala's DNA.

Burnett County will be awaiting a final formal report on confirmation of Mehtala's DNA in their 2006 case.

Around 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon Craig Mehtala was arrested for 2nd Degree Sexual assault in connection with the June 21st sexual assault and remains in the custody of the Douglas County Jail.

Mehtala is expected to make an initial appearance in Douglas County Circuit Court at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon on the newest sexual assault charge.

Additional investigation is on-going to determine if Mehtala is responsible for any other sexual assaults that have occurred in Superior over the last few years.

In Wisconsin 2nd Degree Sexual Assault, is a Class C Felony, and carries a potential $100,000 fine and/or up to 40 years imprisonment if convicted for each charge.