By Brandi Makuski

Assistant District Attorney David Knaapen has resigned for the Portage Co. DA’s Office.

Knaapen confirmed on Tuesday that he left the district attorney’s office last week. When asked for an official statement on the reason for his departure, he declined, but did say he was moving to the Wood Co. District Attorney’s office.

Knaapen became a Portage Co. ADA in 2002. Prior to that, he was a staff attorney in the public defender’s office for nearly a decade. Knaapen also ran an unsuccessful bid for Portage Co. Circuit Court Judge in 2015.

District Attorney Louis Molepske said he accepted Knaapen’s resignation on June 23, but said he wasn’t able to go into detail “based on employment confidentiality laws”.

Knaapen is the second ADA to leave the office in the past year. Former ADA Elizabeth Constable left in late 2016 after running unopposed for Langlade Co. District Attorney.

Constable was replaced by ADA Daniel Hess. Multiple requests for an interview with Hess have not been answered.

Molepske said Knaapen has been replaced by ADA Michael Zell, who worked in the Wood Co. DA’s office for two years, and has previously worked as a court commissioner in Portage County. Zell lives in the town of Grant with his family.