The parents of a 6-year-old Grant County, Wis., boy who has been accused of first-degree sexual assault have been prevented from discussing the case.

The Dubuque Telegraph Herald has reported that Iowa County Judge Bill Dyke, who is handling the case, has issued a gag order because the parents had plans to speak with a Madison television station.

According to that report, the parents of the accused boy intended to discuss how the accusation has emotionally affected their child. However, Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker, who has been sued by the boy's parents, asked Dyke for a gag order regarding the case. The order was granted.

The allegation against the boy is that he sexually assaulting two 5-year-old children while playing a game of doctor last fall. The boy's parents have claimed that their son was selectively prosecuted, as one of the 5-year-olds was the daughter of a Grant County political figure.

The accused boy's parents are seeking $12 million in damages.

The circumstances surrounding the case are that the girl told her mother she was playing butt doctor with the boy, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The third person playing the game was the girl's brother.

Their mother told investigators that she suspected the accused boy had put his finger in the girl's anus.

The accused boy, who is now 7 years old and has a developmental disability, previously had medical problems that required rectal examinations and is afraid of going to jail, the suit states.

The suit also claimed that Riniker went too far in prosecuting the 6 year old for first-degree sexual assault and that Riniker violated the boy's civil rights when she filed a juvenile court petition for protective services, claiming the doctor game was a sexual assault.

The boy's parents alleged that the investigation was biased and that retired Grant County Sheriff's Sgt. James Kopp waged a relentless campaign to discredit and embarrass and humiliate [the] 6 year old.

The boy's parents have said they provided evidence showing their son didn't perform act out with other children and has gotten appropriate services.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that the girl's parents said they tried to privately work things out the accused boy's parents but that they weren't given that opportunity.

Riniker has also been accused of trying to coerce the boy's parents into signing a consent decree by implying she will seek to remove their children from their custody.

Christopher Cooper, an Illinois attorney representing the boy and his parents, told the media that his clients oppose any kind of consent agreement, as they believe it implies some guilt or the responsibility for a wrongful act that the accused boy couldn't understood.

Court Civil rights