Child sex abuse case moves forward against ex-Wonder Lake Ski Club driver

A Wonder Lake man’s rights were not violated when a grand jury indicted him on a single charge of aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a child in January, McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt has ruled.

Alan Mrowka, 70, was taken into custody Dec. 4, 2023, at his winter home in Lee County, Florida, on the McHenry County charges and extradited to Illinois.

The case could proceed to trial in early summer, according to comments that prosecutor William Bruce made to several people who attended the hearing.

Mrowka, the former owner of Wonder Foods, drove a boat and coached many years for the Wonder Lake Water Ski team, which performs water ski shows, according to court records. Prosecutors allege that between May 4, 1993, and May 4, 1997, Mrowka “committed an act of sexual conduct with [someone] who was under 13 years of age when the act was committed.”

According to arguments in court last week and court documents, the now-adult man, who was 10 at the time, told an investigator with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office that Mrowka “cupped” his buttocks while he was exiting a boat.

But Mrowka’s attorney, David Franks, argued in his motion to dismiss the indictment against his client that the investigator, Detective Michael Quick – the sole witness in front of a grand jury – misled jurors about what the man told him about his recollections of the alleged abuse.

“Detective Quick’s testimony before the grand jury that the alleged victim clearly remembered being touched inappropriately by the defendant was false, misleading, deceptive and inaccurate,” according to the defense motion.

The defense further argued that the man did not clarify or clearly remember what the alleged offense was but “simply repeated what his wife told him she thought had occurred.”

According to court documents, Quick told the grand jury that he spoke to “approximately at least eight to 10 men” about claims of inappropriate touching by Mrowka that date back to the 1980s and 1990s.

Franks also argued that police reports from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office reflect that several of the allegations against Mrowka occurred in Florida or outside of McHenry County – allegations that could not be prosecuted here because of jurisdictional boundaries. Franks said the detective did not make that clear to the grand jury.

Even if the misleading testimony was inadvertent, “it is not permissible,” Franks argued.

The prosecutor said several men, now all adults, reported similar behavior from Mrowka, but the charge he now faces “all goes to what [the victim] remembers about how it occurred.”

Bruce said authorities are not required to point out any exculpatory evidence, such as where other alleged incidents may have occurred.

In his ruling from the bench, Gerhardt said prosecutors did not mislead the grand jury, and Mrowka’s right to due process was not violated in talking about incidents that may have occurred.

Mrowka’s next court date was set for Jan. 30.