MADISON, Wis. – Pressure built Thursday for regulators to explain why they failed to sanction a Wisconsin prosecutor who admitted sending sexually charged text messages to a domestic abuse victim.

The Office of Lawyer Regulation and the Wisconsin Crime Victims’ Rights Board knew 10 months ago about inappropriate behavior by Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz but didn’t discipline him.

Their inaction has been criticized by lawmakers and Gov. Jim Doyle since the text messages were revealed by The Associated Press last week. Two other women have since come forward with allegations of misconduct against Kratz, and Doyle has started the process to remove him from office.

The criticism against regulators mounted Thursday, with two victim-advocacy groups demanding that the OLR publicly reveal how it handled the case. The crime victims board planned to meet today to discuss the case.

Stephanie Van Groll, 26, went to police last October after receiving 30 text messages in three days from Kratz in which he called her a “hot nymph” and asked if she was “the kind of girl that likes secret contact with an older married elected DA.”

At the time, Kratz was prosecuting her ex-boyfriend on a strangulation charge.

The state Department of Justice removed Kratz from the case but determined he hadn’t done anything illegal. It pressured him to resign last December as chairman of the crime victims board, a post he held since 1998, and to report his conduct to the OLR, which oversees attorney conduct.