North Platte, NEBRASKA

PAROLE after 3 ½ years in prison.

He had substantial support from the beginning of this ordeal; 37 letters of recommendation were submitted on his behalf during the pre-sentence investigation. Former Lincoln County Attorney Jeff Meyer's frustration was evident when he said, "None of these letters expressed any concerns for the victim in all of this."

September 25, 2008 - After 3 ½ years in prison, Terrence “Buck” Egenberger, 43, a McDaid Elementary School teacher and girls' basketball coach, has been released on probation. He will be a registered sex offender and will be required to wear an electronic monitoring device until March 2009 when his parole ends.

Egenberger was charged with first-degree sexual assault for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old basketball player.. School administrators met with Egenberger, according to court testimony, in September. They advised him against having one-on-one contact with the victim. Later they placed a glass window in Egenberger's previously solid door.

Egenberger was arrested in January of 2003. A 1½-day trial in August 2003 ended with a mistrial. He pleaded no contest to the charges. In exchange for the plea, the state dropped the two additional sexual assault charges.

At the sentencing Lincoln County District Judge Donald Rowlands said Egenberger damaged the reputation of St. Patrick and the teaching profession in general, and abused parents' trust in those institutions. He said Egenberger abused his power and license by taking advantage of his position of authority over others.
“This court wants to send a message to the community that you and every other teacher who in this position will be punished,” Rowlands said.

Egenberger surrendered his Nebraska teaching certificate.

The North Platte Telegraph (Sept 25)

He apparently had substantial support from the beginning of this ordeal; 37 letters of recommendation were submitted on his behalf during the pre-sentence investigation.

Former Lincoln County Attorney Jeff Meyer's frustration was evident when he said, "None of these letters expressed any concerns for the victim in all of this."

Violating Probation or Parole

Sex offenders often violate their probation and are sentenced to jail or are sent back to prison. These are just the latest teachers in trouble for violating the terms and conditions of their parole or supervised release.

April 1 - Carrie McCandless was returned to jail for 30 days for violation of her parole. She is still married to the school principal, but her probation officer found her in bed while visiting another parolee. Such encounters are forbidden without permission under intensive supervision. She is a registered sex offender. TT entry for McCandless

April 1 - Holly Spreen [non-sex offender] was sentenced to 27 days in jail after being arrested for drunk driving after being placed on probation for prior drunk driving arrests. TT entry for Spreen

March 31 - A judge determined that Matthew Glasser was in violation of his parole for not deleting his e-mail and MySpace accounts. Instead, he transferred them to his father's name. He also failed to find adequate housing. He will be sentenced June 3. He remains in jail until then. Glasser is also a registered sex offender. TT entry for Glasser

March 17 - Sentenced in September 2007 to five years' probation for sex with a 14-year-old girl, Dustin Powers, was declared a Tier 3 Sex Offender. He was arrested after violating his parole in having sexual contact with the same girl, now 15. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for violating his probation. He has now been indicted on three charges. (Tier 3 Sex Offenders are the most likely to reoffend, which probably makes you wonder, like it did us, how a judge would sentence him to probation in the first place.) TT entry for Powers

Feb 26 - Lauren Palmer sentenced August 2007 to two years' probation for -- as the judge termed it, for thing that appears to be a relatively minor, isolated incident - having inappropriate sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl. Arrested for violation of parole Feb 26. TT entry for Palmer

Dec 4, 2007 - Debra LaFave was arrested for parole violation. At a January hearing, Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett determined Lafave violated terms of her house arrest by having private conversations with a 17-year-old girl but the violation was not "willful." Lafave, therefore, was not punished for the violation. Tt entry for LaFave
Interestingly, this year alone, five Tampa, FL teachers have been arrested or sentenced for sex with students. Two others have resigned or been suspended for inappropriate behavior.

What being a registered sex offender means in Minnesota.

Fordyce, ARKANSAS

Oct 30, 2007 - A parole hearing for a third-grade teacher sentenced to ten years for sexual assault of an eight-year-old girl was unsuccessful for Brian Floss, 44. The board denied him parole.

The family of the girl testified at the hearing.

He was initially charged with rape, but he struck a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

Then, after receiving a lesser sentence, the former Wallace Elementary teacher now claims he's not guilty.

(Richard Watts, Victim's Attorney) “Now what he's trying to do is be released, saying that he has been rehabilitated. But he can't have it both ways. He's got to admit that he was lying. He got to admit that he sexually abused this child.”

. . . Victim's Mother) “Brian Floss was a third-grade teacher in Fordyce School District. He messed with these little girls day-in and day-out inside his classroom, during class hours. And to me, he's a very dangerous man.”

It is the second time they have had to testify to keep him behind bars. He has served five years.

Ashwaubenon, WISCONSIN

October 15, 2007 - Swim coach to be released from prison.

Ashwaubenon Public Safety officials have scheduled a sex offender notification meeting Thursday to discuss the pending release of a former high school girls’ swim team coach.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Ashwaubenon Public Safety Department, 2155 Holmgren Way.Officials expect that David Kaster, who is due to be paroled Oct. 23, will move into the 1100 block of Circle Drive.

Kaster, 47, was sentenced in November 2001 to nine years in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually assaulting three of his Ashwaubenon team members between March 1998 and April 2000.

Edwardsville, ILLINOIS

Mar 12, 2007 - Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office has requested a hearing to revoke the probation of Michael Vonderohem, 29, for failing to seek sex offender counseling.

Vonderohe, a teacher at Metro East Lutheran High School, was charged in November 2003 with aggravated criminal sexual abuse after a female student alleged Vonderohe fondled her breasts and vaginal area. Court records also indicated that the victim claimed to have been physically threatened and was afraid of Vonderohe.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced March 18, 2004, to three years of probation. As conditions of his probation, Vonderohe was required to give up his teaching certificate, have no contact with the alleged victim or her family and comply with sex offender treatment.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Mar 13 -Belleview News-Democrat: Vonderobe filed a clemency petition in 2004 with the governor, asking that his record be cleared.

"I do not wish to receive any more sex offender therapy, considering the fact that I do not see the so-called therapy given by this treatment," Vonderohe wrote in the petition. "This type of treatment or any sexual treatment is irrelevant to me. I do not need it, nor will the treatment benefit me in any way."

Vonderohe has not been granted clemency. He also is facing a pending lawsuit filed against him by the former student.

Mar 14 - At a court appearance, Vonderohe was given a week to find a lawyer. The case is continued.

Mar 21 - The A probation revocation hearing will be delayed for 30 days.

August 16 - Former Edwardsville schoolteacher and convicted sex offender Michael Vonderohe has been released from probation and his case closed after the defense and prosecution agreed he has participated in sexual offender counseling. SEE St. Louis Post-Dispatch story.