Jailed teen faces assault charges after emails intercepted

Eighteen-year-old was writing to younger girl about pregnancy from behind bars

    A Saukville teenager who has been in jail since being arrested on Oct. 6 for allegedly showing a pornographic image to a 13-year-old boy now faces additional felonies for having sex with a girl when she was 15 — a relationship authorities discovered in emails the teenager sent using his high school account while behind bars, according to a criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court.
    Alexander L. Kanios, 18, was charged last week with two counts of sexually assaulting a child younger than 16 after a Port Washington High School representative informed a jail deputy of the emails exchanged by the students, according to the complaint.
    In the emails, the girl referred to the fact she believes she is pregnant, the complaint states.
    Kanios responded, “It is with high regret that I say this ... I don’t think it is a good idea to keep the baby. If the police find out I am the father, they could keep me in jail or worse send me to prison .... I know you love the baby, but do you want your other baby in prison?” according to the complaint.
    The girl, now 16, told a police officer that she and Kanios had sex in Port Washington on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26.
    About two months ago, the Sheriff’s Office implemented a new program that gives inmates access to email through a special service, not a typical web-based service like Gmail, for a fee, Capt. Christy Knowles said.
    Kanios, however, had access to his school account because he was taking classes while in jail. That privilege has been revoked because of the new charges, Knowles said.
    Kanios was arrested in October after police received a report that a 13-year-old Saukville boy had been watching computer pornography.
    The boy, who spoke with an officer and later participated in a forensic interview, said he began watching pornography after Kanios showed him several photos on his cell phone, at least one of which was pornographic, while walking to a friend’s house, according to the complaint.
    The boy said he took note of the website the photos were from and later found it on his own.
    When confronted by police, Kanios said the boy watched a video of a 19-year-old Kanios described as his ex-girlfriend doing a strip tease on Kanios’ phone, the complaint states.   
    Kanios said he thought the boy was 12, a year younger than he actually is, according to the complaint.
    Kanios was charged on Oct. 6 with one felony count of exposing a child to harmful material, a felony punishable by a maximum 1-1/2 years in prison and two years of extended supervision.
    On Oct. 6, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Sandy Williams set Kanios’ bail at $25,000 and ordered him not to have contact with anyone younger than 18. She later rejected a motion filed by Kanios’ lawyer to reduce the amount of bail.
    The sexual assault charges Kanios faces are each punishable by a maximum 25 years in prison and 15 years of extended supervision.