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APPLETON - Former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz gave strong testimony at a hearing in Appleton Tuesday. Kratz resigned from his D.A. position in 2010, after sending a series of racy text messages to a young domestic abuse victim. 

During Tuesday's hearing, Kratz defended himself before the Office of Lawyer Regulation, telling his side of the story for the first time.

Kratz says his life hit a low point when news of the sexting scandal started to spread in September of 2010.

"I had gone from being one of the most respected D.A.s in the state and a very competent trial lawyer to, what I perceived at that time, was vilified, and hated, and altogether forgotten for anything redeeming that I had done," said Kratz.

He says his lapse in judgment was fueled in part by sexually compulsive disorder, a disorder he's been struggling with for years.

"It's sometimes called hyper sexuality, sometimes sexual compulsivity. The street name is sex addiction," Kratz explained.

Kratz says he became dependent on prescription drugs in 2009.

"I became dependent on the drugs Xanax and Ambien, which are both in the benzodiazepine family, but I was adding a drug called Vicodin as well," he said.

In the days following the scandal, Kratz says he felt so hopeless, he even contemplated suicide.

"I had a gun in my mouth," he said.

While he is currently seeking treatment, Kratz acknowledges that what he did was wrong and says he deserves to be punished.

Kratz pleaded no contest to six different charges Tuesday, including two counts of sexual harassment. Now, the Office of Lawyer Regulation will have up to 30 days to make a recommendation of punishment to the Supreme Court.