By Brandi Makuski

After serving 30 years of his sentence, a former Carson man convicted on multiple counts of rape and burglary has been released on a $1,000 signature bond pending a new trial. 

Richard E. Beranek, 59, was sentenced to 243 years in prison in 1990 for the rape of a Stoughton woman. He was released on June 22, according to Sheriff Mike Lukas, and will reside in Carson.

Reserve Dane Co. Judge Daniel Moeser threw out Beranek’s conviction earlier this month, writing in his decision that one expert’s trial testimony on a sample of Beranek’s hair “exceeds the limits of science at the time.”

Beranek’s case is now being argued by four attorneys from the Innocence Project, headquartered in New York, as well as the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

But Beranek has other convictions as well. In 1981, he was convicted in Wood Co. of first-degree sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl. In 1988, he was convicted of assaulting another girl, 16, in Chippewa County.

As part of Beranek’s release, he is required to register as a lifetime sex offender, cooperate with GPS monitoring and maintain regular face-to-face contact with law enforcement. He is also prohibited from contact with his victims or minors or patronizing bars or liquor stores, and may not consume alcohol or drugs.

Beranek is a white male, 5’10” and 180 pounds with gray hair. He is not currently wanted by law enforcement.

When asked why the sex offender release wasn’t sent earlier, Lukas said his office was “just notified” by the Dept. of Corrections. 

A new trial for Beranek not yet been scheduled. 

This story is developing.