Prisoner with release order remains behind bars

A man whose release from prison was ordered after 27 years behind bars remains in the Dane County Jail on a Department of Corrections hold.

Dane County Judge Nicholas McNamara on Thursday ordered Richard Beranek released on a signature bond with conditions.

Beranek was convicted in 1990 of sexually assaulting a rural Stoughton woman. A judge earlier this month tossed out Beranek’s conviction after attorneys from the Wisconsin Innocence Project worked to overturn his conviction with the help of new DNA evidence. A new trial was ordered for the 58-year-old Beranek.

Corrections spokesman Tristan Cook tells WISC-TV that the department is working with local officials to find a suitable placement for Beranek while he’s on GPS monitoring.