Madison, WISCONSIN

October 13, 2008 - Todd M. Strang, 36, a high school teacher, was charged with two felony counts of having sex with a student over the age of 16.

The criminal complaint alleges that Todd M. Strang was a teacher at a high school in Lafayette County in 2000 and 2001 and engaged in sexual intercourse at his residence with a student who was attending the high school while Strang was employed as a teacher at the school.

The incidents occurred while the student was a junior and senior at the high school. A status conference is scheduled for Dec. 16.

----------------------------
TT Note: Location will change when find out the name of the school. There currently is no press release online from the Wisconsin Attorney General's Office that is the source for the news stories.

Walworth, WISCONSIN

Role Model #1917

September 25, 2008 - Katie Luessenhop, 26, a second grade teacher who started teaching in the district three weeks ago, was arrested for having cocaine on school property.

She was arrested around 8:30 at night on school property in the school's parking lot after police got a call about a disturbance.

She has taken an indefinite leave of absence. She will be back in court in October.

Cedarburg, WISCONSIN

Wonder why teachers aren't fired more often? Because, depending on their connections, it can take years. And it can drag on endlessly.

August 22 - Robert Zellner asking the state Supreme Court to decide his pornography-related termination case. (AGAIN)

Cedarsburg Education Association (union) petition for review. PDF
Wisconsin Education Association Council statement PDF
---------------------------------------
TT - This is the second time the case has gone to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Previous TT coverage.

TIMELINE
June 2003 - A community leader expresses concern to the school superintendent that Zellner was into pornography. Zeller is president of the Cedarsburg teachers union.

August 2004 - Zellner asks to have his computer reimaged after pop-up ads interfere with computer use. It is the SECOND time in nine months his computer was reimaged because of, the superintendent says, computer usage "that should not have occurred."
Technology department to monitor the computer use.

December 2005 - Technology department review finds Zellner used computer to to view pornography in November.

December 20, 2005 - Zellner admits accessing pornography and said he had done so in the past. He refuses offer to resign.

January 16, 2006 - Board votes unanimously to fire Zellner. Under the teacher contract, the matter goes to binding arbitration.

June and July 2006 - There is a three-day hearing before an arbitrator. School presents evidence that Zellner had viewed pornography in November and that such images may have been viewed as early as 2003.

September 2006 - Arbitrator rules that the Board was not justified in firing Zellner. Bizarrely, the arbitrator said that teachers who committed other computer offenses, such as looking up stocks, were not fired.

[Later, Zellner asks for and gets the arbitration hearing transcript declared confidential and closed because they contain "medical information" about Zellner.]

Lawsuit - School board refuses to rehire Zellner and Zellner sues the school board.

April 2007 - Arbitration decision overturned. Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph McCormack overturned the decision, saying the arbitrator failed to consider that Zellner's actions amounted to "immoral conduct."

The board, which has spent more than $100,000 in legal fees on the case, has indicated it is dead set against rehiring Zellner.

May 2007 - When a newspaper sought to gain access under the open records law to the memo and CD with the images that were used in the evidentiary hearing to fire Zeller, Zellner's attorneys in the union sought an injunction. A circuit judge ruled in favor of the newspaper, an appeal sent the case to the state Supreme Court.

Zeller's attorneys and Zellner claimed the pornographic images could not be released because they were "copyrighted."

The state Supreme Court ruled against Zellner, ruling that the public had an interest in the CD and memo. "They are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching children, and the public has an interest in knowing about such allegations of teacher misconduct and how they are handled. The public also has an interest in knowing how the government handles disciplinary actions of public employees."

The newspaper never revealed the contents of the memo, but they reviewed the CD and pronounced that "there was no proof that he had reviewed all 1500 images."

April 2008 - The state Court of Appeals chooses not to take the appeal and asks the state Supreme Court to take the case.

April 2008 - Ten days after the teachers union-supported candidate for the state Supreme Court is defeated and the court becomes more conservative, Zellner's attorney wants case returned to the state Supreme Court.

April 2008 - The case goes (again) to the state Supreme Court.

May 2008 - The state Supreme Court sends the case back to the Appeals Court, pending a case that might be seen as precedent and still under consideration.

July 2008 - The state Court of Appeals upholds firing and the decision of Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph McCormack.

August 2008 - Zellner is is asking the state Supreme Court to decide his pornography-related termination case.

AT ISSUE: "The ruling opens the door as to whether courts are going to start reviewing arbitrator's findings, and that's contrary to Wisconsin law," Jina Jonen, the lawyer who works for the Wisconsin Education Association Council in Madison, said.

At issue is whether it will be Wisconsin law. Arbitrator's rulings should be reviewed by courts who are responsible to the public.

St, Francis, WISCONSIN

Her parents must be soooooo proud.

March 21, 2008 - Kelly Sweet, 26, an 8th grade teacher at Deer Creek Intermediate School, was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

Sweet taught at Deer Creek for the last four years. The 14-year-old student told Milwaukee police that he and Sweet had sexual contact earlier this month in her downtown Milwaukee apartment while watching movies on her couch. Sweet is due back in Milwaukee County Circuit Court April 3rd.
Full Name: Kelly Marie Sweet
--------------------------------
WE FOUND: Criminal complaint PDF
Smoking Gun entry for Sweet. (with criminal complaint) and huge picture of her.

Milwaukee County Case Number 2008CF001367 Search here
Status conference scheduled for June 2nd 8:30 am Milwaukee County Courthouse
--------------------------------
SENTENCED (sorta) August 26 - Sweet pleaded guilty today to fourth-degree sexual assault, (a misdemeanor) for having sexual contact with a 14-year-old student. She was sentenced to serve 25 days in jail - not prison - and placed on two years of probation. She also permanently relinquished her Wisconsin teaching license. She was ordered to register as a sex offender for the duration of her probation.

Although the victim’s family members did not want to talk on camera, they were not happy with the lack of jail time in this case.

Sweet now lives in Jefferson County and works as a paralegal in her father's law firm.
-------------------------------
WE FOUND: The Journal Sentinel blog, Proof and Hearsay, (August 27) responded in "Teacher makes out with student." to comments about the sentencing with their own question: "Honestly, would you expect the same legal outcome? " Which, it might be said, is a lot easier than actually researching to see if sentencing results for males and females convicted of the same crimes is unfair and unequal and is an injustice to the victim. The newspaper certainly has the resources to conduct such an investigation by examining sentencing data.

SENTENCING GUIDELINES Wisconsin has sentencing guidelines online from the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission for the top 11 crimes committed in the state. There are penalty enhancers for hate crimes and crimes committed in a school zone, but look at the list of Risk Factors in this Guideline for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child. (A Class "C" felony. Wisconsin Statute 948.02(2) (PDF) See page 2. (Or see NXT Infobase.)

Risk Factors (See their Guideline Notes. pg 5.) are defined as concerns for future risk and the need to incapacitate the defendant to safeguard public safety. Sex of the defendant is not a listed factor. Employment and education are, as is alcohol abuse by the defendant and claims of sexual abuse by the defendant.

Some 60% of those sentenced for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child receive probation. (From the Guideline for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child linked to above.)

If a preponderance of concern in sentencing as seen in the worksheet is for the risk of reoffending, no doubt, women are not considered as high a risk as men. The sex of the defendant may not be in the guidelines, but in the courtroom, it is visually obvious and cannot help to be a factor. Women are simply not viewed as predators to the degree men are. And judging by the comments at the story, some juvenile males are fully convinced this is rightly so. Certainly the newspaper makes no judgement, which is seriously worrying.

Isn't it the duty and obligation of a newspaper to inform and educate their readers?

Sweet pleaded to 4th Degree Sexual Assault can be found here (PDF) (on pg 9.) 940.22.3m

Shiocton, WISCONSIN

Teachers' union treasurer accused of theft.

Dec 28, 2007 - Tracy S. Stelter, 45, a special education teacher for the Shiocton School District, was charged with one count of felony theft for allegedly taking $9,000 from the funds of the Shiocton Education Association where she worked as treasurer from 2002 to 2007. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Feb 21, 2008 - Stelter pleaded not guilty. Trial is scheduled for for May 20.

PRE-TRIAL SCHEDULED - May 6, 2008
TRIAL SCHEDULED - May 20, 2008

GUILTY PLEA May 23 - Stelter pleaded no contest to a charge of felony theft for taking funds from the teachers union. Stelter paid the money back shortly after the theft was discovered. The prosecutor is recommending Stelter receive three to six months in jail.
She is scheduled to be sentenced July 21.

SENTENCED Stelter was sentenced to 10 days in jail and three years of probation.

Farley, IOWA

Feb 18, 2008 - Dale Soppe, a Western Dubuque School District teacher in the 1960s, will go on trial in July for indecent behavior with a child and enticing a child for immoral purpose. The case dates back to 1969.

The student is 51 years old now. He was 13 and a student in Iowa where Soppe was his teacher. After he moved to Wisconsin, Soppes visited the boy. That is where the sexual abuse for which Soppe is being charged happened. Soppe was 34 years old at the time. He is 72 now.

Wisconsin’s statute of limitations should have expired years ago. But it didn’t, and authorities say Soppe’s Iowa residency is the reason. When a suspect leaves Wisconsin the statute of limitations pauses. That stopped clock allowed prosecutors to file charges in 2006.

-------------------------
TT - The sexual abuse began in Iowa, but the statue of limitations prevented prosecution in that state.

Former teacher charged with molesting boy in Wisconsin (dated May 11, 2006)
Soppe, who wrote two books and later left teaching to become a therapist, studied for the priesthood for several years, according to biographical information in one of his books.

Former Area Teacher Will Go to Trial for Sexually Abusing Boy (dated Feb 19 2008)
Soppe also taught at Xavier High School in Dyersville.

Reminder: The location is the school or school district. Dates are publication dates. Soppes will be prosecuted in Wisconsin. He taught in Iowa. When and why he left teaching is a good question.

SENTENCED (sorta) July 17 - Soppe was found guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault, and a second count was dismissed in Barron County, Wis. A judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail - not prison - a $1,000 fine and required Soppe to register as a sex offender and undergo sex-offender evaluation and follow-up treatment.

TT - Sixty days in jail. At least he will have to register as a sex offender.

Milwaukee, WISCONSIN

July 17, 2008 - Janet Miller, 58, a longtime educator and principal, was convicted of stealing more than $13,000 from the Maryland Avenue Montessori School, was sentenced Thursday to serve three years of probation.

Miller retired in December, in the midst of the criminal investigation and disciplinary proceedings by MPS. In May, she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of misconduct in public office

She told Milwaukee County Circuit Judge William Sosnay that she stole the money to support an addiction to gambling.

“My name is Janet Miller, and I am a compulsive gambler,” she told Sosnay.

TT - It's easier than admitting to being a thief.

Cedarburg, WISCONSIN

How can the Minneapolis Star-Tribune write a whole article about a fired teacher going to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to get his job back and forget to mention he was the teacher's union president?

Fourth time in 13 months that the case has moved from one court to another.

May 5, 2008 - Robert Zellner has been fighting to get his job back for two years. The case was to go to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but now his lawyer wants the Appeals Court to hear the case.

Zellner was fired in 2006 for having pornography on his computer. Twice. He took his case to an arbitrator who ruled the teacher should have been reprimanded but not fired.

The school board refused to rehire him so he sued, but he lost when an Ozaukee County judge overturned the arbitrator's ruling. Zellner then appealed to the state Court of Appeals. That court decided April 2 to ask the state Supreme Court to handle the case. However, Zellner's attorney, Jia Jonen, now wants the case returned to the Court of Appeals.

The Star-Tribune speculates,

Jonen's move may be related to the recent Supreme Court election. Her request came 10 days after Justice Louis Butler Jr. — a candidate who was heavily supported by the state's largest teachers union — was defeated. Circuit Court Judge Michael Gableman won the seat, an outcome observers say could tip the balance of power on the high court.

-----------------------------
TT - Surely the Star-Tribune remembers when the newspaper sued to gain access to a CD with the images and data collected from Zellner's computer so they could pronounce that -- there was no proof he viewed all of them. TT Entry

They were given access by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The ruling is still online. Zellner's legal objection to having the CD released to the newspaper was because the porn images were copyrighted.

You won't read about the arbitration ruling, however, as a judge ruled the arbitration hearing was confidential, ostensibly because of private medical information about Zellner. Zellner was the head of the teacher's union and Jonen is a union-supplied attorney. (Both facts in this article.) Zellner is suing the school district for $9 million. TT Entry

UPDATE May 15 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court sent the case back down to the appeals court. It was the fourth time in 13 months that the case has moved from one court to another.
At issue is whether a judge can overturn a federal arbitrator’s decision, particularly when both parties involved agree to abide by that decision.

IN A VICTORY FOR RATIONAL THOUGHT, THE
APPEALS COURT RULED July 23 - The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the state Court of Appeals upheld the firing of former Cedarburg teacher Robert Zellner. In the ruling issued this morning, the Waukesha-based appeals panel backed the decision of an Ozaukee County circuit judge who had upheld Zellner's firing. The appeals court said that Zellner exhibited immoral behavior and that immoral behavior, as a strong public policy concern, is a basis for a court to take the rare step of overturning an arbitrator's decision.

THE SWEET SPOT from the story:

Jina Jonen, who works for the Wisconsin Education Association Council in Madison, said she was disappointed and concerned that the decision would lead to more court challenges of workplace disputes that are now decided more quickly and less expensively through binding arbitration.

"The ruling opens the door as to whether courts are going to start reviewing arbitrator's findings, and that's contrary to Wisconsin law," she said.

They're deciding whether to appeal. [TT - To a newly-configured conservative court? We don't think so.]
---------------------
TT - The case is Cedarburg Education Association v. The Cedarburg Board of Education
Appeal No.2007AP852
Decision dated and filed July 23, 2008. PDF

The Appeals Court based their finding on the Racine County decision and found that "Our supreme court recently confirmed that when an arbitration award violates the law or a strong public policy, the arbitrator has exceeded his or her powers and the award must be vacated."

Furthermore, where relevant law or public policy is ignored, the arbitrator has exceeded his or her powers (pg. 6)

In particular, they questioned the arbitrator’s conclusion that the record did not support the school district’s claim “that an immoral behavior is automatic grounds for termination.” (pg 7-8)

"We are not convinced that Zellner’s tenure and stealth provide sufficient counterweight to the public policy against immoral conduct in schools."

August 22 - In what the Journal says is "what could be the final stage of Robert Zellner’s 2 1/2 -year quest to get his job back" Zellner has asked the state Supreme Court to decide his pornography-related termination case. Again.
TT - See our Timeline and review.

Amery, WISCONSIN

Forty-year-old teacher planned to marry the 16-year-old boy.
Something the National Inquirer would love.

Nov 15, 2007 -
Brenda K. Baillargeon, 39, a staff member of the Amery School District, was charged with with having sex with a 16-year-old male student, a Class H Felony under state law.

The mother had filed a harassment restraining order against Baillargeon in October. Baillargeon also faces four counts of knowingly violating that restraining order after the mother discovered a phone bill with calls from Oct. 15 to Oct. 21 ranging from 20 minutes to 73 minutes long.

She told authorities that she had received so many calls from the youth she felt she needed to answer them and speak with him.

The victim's mother contacted authorities after her son confessed the activity to her Nov. 13, according to the complaint.

BIZARRE Nov 16 - The Pioneer Press reports that Baillargeon was divorcing so she could marry the student. She took him on trips and sneaked into his home in the early morning hours for sex. She was his first love, and they were going to get married, according to arrest records, after she got a divorce.

A general tutor assigned to help the teen with his studies, Baillageon had sex with the boy at his home, his grandfather's cabin, on a bench at a nearby park and at her cabin near Amery, the arrest records said.

Baillageon is the second west-central Wisconsin educator charged this fall with having sex with a teenage student. Anne Knopf, 39, is also accused of having sex with a 13-year-old boy.
TT - Link for Knopf
TT - Link for teachers having sex with little boys list

NOT GUILTY PLEA Dec 28 - Baillageon was in court and pleaded not guilty.

NO CONTEST PLEA March 29, 2008 - Baillageon pleaded no contest for one count of sex assault of a student by school staff and one count of child enticement with sexual contact.
The judge dismissed three other felony charges. She will also have to register as a sexual offender.

Though the other charges were dropped, Polk County District Attorney Daniel Steffen said Baillargeon likely will serve time.

"She pleaded to one of the most serious charges, and even if she had gone to trial and been convicted, she wouldn't have faced any more prison time," Steffen said.

A mother of four, Baillargeon has a 16-year-old daughter the same age and in the same class as the boy Baillargeon admitted to having sex with.

Her sentencing likely will come 90 days after completion of a presentencing investigation by the state Department of Corrections.

SENTENCED July 13 - Baillargeon was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison -- two years of confinement and three years extended supervision, the sentences to run concurrently. She was also sentenced to probation for 15 years. She must also enter sex offender treatment, submit a sample of DNA, and register as a sex offender.

She was ordered last week by a Polk County judge to stay out of the City of Amery.

TT - It makes you wince when a news story reports, "She was 39 at the time of the affair." He was 16 years old! It's not an affair; it's sordid, manipulative, and illegal. And some would question the mental capacity of a mother of four having sex with a student 23 years younger.

Prescott, WISCONSIN

Nothing so illustrates the awful shame than a mugshot, complete with jail identification ID.

Thirty-nine year old teacher "in love" with a 13-year-old boy. But at least he will know where she lives for the rest of her life.

Nov 5, 2007 - Anne M. Knopf, 39, a Prescott teacher, has been charged with one count of second degree sexual assault of a child. She made a brief court appearance. [No other stories available online.]

The student she is alleged to have a sexual relationship with is a 13-year-old boy.

Preliminary hearing date is Nov 20.

WKYC reports that the boy was her daughter's former boyfriend. Knopf has retained custody of her two children. Their headline also says, "Woman charged over affair with 13-year-old"

Nov 26 - Knopf faces new sexual assault charges. She is now charged with repeated sexual assault of the same child.

The criminal complaint states the 13-year old boy drove to her Ellsworth home, once a week, for four or five weeks where they would kiss and have sex.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Nov 27 - Knopf pleaded not guilty. Her next court appearance will be a pre-trial conference on Jan 8.

TRIAL SCHEDULED - July 17, 2008

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING Knopf pleaded guilty to one count of second degree sexual assault of a child. She was sentenced to nine months jail - not prison- and five years probation. The boy was 13 years old.

The complaint states the relationship between the two allegedly commenced via e-mail and messaging activities. The father made copies of the e-mails. The plea agreement was reached after physical evidence corroborated what the victim, a 13-year-old boy, alleged that intercourse took place.

She must undergo sex offender assessment and register as a sexual offender for the rest of her life.

LAWSUIT - October 24 - The father of the boy who was sexually assaulted by a substitute teacher last year has filed a civil lawsuit against Ann Knopf and her husband, Wade J. Knopf. The suit filed Oct. 16 says Ann Knopf's actions weren't decent, and that Wade Knopf should have avoided exposing the boy to risk of harm.

Video Voyerism

He told appellate judges that because his girlfriend agreed to be naked in his presence, she had no reasonable expectation of privacy -- even in her own home.

July 2, 2008 - A challenge to the state's "video voyeur" law by a -- you guessed it - a teacher who pleaded guilty in April 2007 to one count of filming his girlfriend nude without her consent. Two other secret taping charges were dropped.

Former Waunakee High School chemistry teacher Mark Jahnke, 44,did not distribute the recordings, according to court documents. He was sentenced to three years of probation and six months in jail, with sentence stayed pending appeal. Waunakee school officials had voted to terminate his employment, then negotiated his resignation from the district.

Jahnke's girlfriend became aware of the taping when she saw a red light beneath a pile of clothes in her bedroom. When police searched Jahnke's house, police seized 33 audio tapes of the couple having sex and three DVDs, one of the couple engaged in sex, and two of his girfriend nude in her home.

The case is before Wisconsin 4th District Court of Appeals. Jahnke told appellate judges that because his girlfriend agreed to be naked in his presence, she had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
-------------------
ONLINE RESOURCE: No date has been scheduled for a decision in this case, but you can find Wisconsin Appeals Court decisions here.

Union Classroom Antics

The picket signs said “Fair Contract NOW!” on one side, and “Do the Right Thing!” on the other side. Displayed in their classrooms, on the windows, desks and walls.

July 1, 2008 - Teachers in Wisconsin now have a "right" to post signs in classrooms supporting their side in a labor dispute, according to the state Court of Appeals.

The Milwaukee School Board filed the appeal after Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Hansher affirmed a decision by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission that the board had not established sufficient reason for banning the signs.

The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, the union representing the teachers, suggested that the signs be posted after attempts to reach a contract agreement for 2003-’05 failed. The teachers began wearing buttons during the school day that stated “attract and retain” in March 2004. A month later teachers displayed two-sided, 11x14-inch signs in their classrooms on windows, desks and walls.

The union later encouraged teachers to display the signs more visibly, particularly during parent-teacher conferences, along with letters from the union. The commission and the Appeals Court found that the signs did not constitute political advocacy activities that are banned by School Board policy.

The Appeals Court decision was written by Judge Wedemeyer.

“The board cannot discriminate against concerted teachers’ activity by issuing a blanket prohibition on union-related signs while permitting a variety of other non-instructional materials to be posted by teachers, which has been left to the personal discretion of the teachers.”

----------------------
TT - The case is Milwaukee Board of School Directors v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, Docket #2007AP000840 PDF

Rice Lake, WISCONSIN

ALL SIX CHARGES DISMISSED IN PLEA AGREEMENT.
HE AGREED TO RESIGN AND surrender his state teaching license.

Oct 6, 2007 - David M. Suino, 47, a fifth-grade teacher at Tainter Elementary School, was arrested after staff members at the school gave statements to law enforcement that they felt a fellow teacher's touching of a 10-year-old male student was inappropriate.

Suino was charged with one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. The case remains under investigation.

Feb 5, 2008 - Suino is due in court today. He faces a half-dozen disorderly conduct charges. Six boys are listed in the criminal complaint, four of them were in Suino's class this year, two others say Suino touched them two years ago.

Rice Lake Police say there could be more victims. Suino is on paid administrative leave from his teaching job.

FINAL PRE-TRIAL SCHEDULED - June 23, 2008

PLEA DEAL June 23, 2008 - All six charges of disorderly conduct were dismissed Monday in Dunn County Court. As part of a plea agreement, the charges were dropped against Suino. Suino agreed to resign his teaching position with the Rice Lake school district and surrender his state teaching license.

Jackson, WISCONSIN

June 11, 2008 - Jeffery C. Baas, 40, principal of Jackson Elementary School, was arrested and charged with resisting an officer during a drunken driving arrest. The officer had to taser him twice. Additional officers were needed to handcuff him.

Baas was the former principal at Algonquin Elementary School in Brown Deer.

On June 11, 2005, just three days before he was offered the Jackson job, Baas and his live-in partner were arrested on suspicion of domestic violence battery after an incident at Baas’ home. Both men were listed as suspects and as victims in the incident.

Under a plea agreement, the misdemeanor charge was dismissed in March 2006 after Baas successfully completed court-ordered batterer’s treatment and other conditions.

Baas had been placed on administrative leave pending a district investigation into the incident.
Full Name: Jeffery C. Baas
School website (be sure to see the picture)
School district: West Bend

Waunakee, WISCONSIN

Despite state law requiring school officials to report any reasonable suspicions of immoral conduct by a licensed educator to the Department of Public Instruction, Hirsch's resignation agreement stipulated no report to the state be made. And they gave him a "neutral reference." That was 2006.

Jan 3, 2008 - Anthony J. Hirsch, 32, a teacher's assistant for special education students at Waunakee Middle School, was arrested on suspicion of downloading child pornography from a group of Web sites being monitored by federal investigators.

The Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement contacted Madison police last month to let them know that Hirsch was a subject of interest in an investigation.

Hirsch formerly worked in a similar job at La Follette High School in Madison.

WKOW: "This isn't the first assistant teacher in trouble with the law this school year. Former Waunakee teachers aid [sic] Jacklyn Kaltenberg is charged with misdemeanors in connection with an underaged drinking party in October."

[TT - A police officer was fired for releasing police reports of the investigation to Waunakee School District Administrator Chuck Pursell while the investigation was still ongoing, then called the deputy director of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The reason given? Because the officer's son was on a rival football team. The reason seems odd to us.]

Correction: Town misspelled. Thank you, poster.

Feb 29 - WKOW investigative report (Feb 29) that uncovered the 2006 agreement received after they filed an state open records request.

Read the whole thing. It's great reporting.

In the January criminal complaint filed against Hirsch, authorities stated Hirsch admitted to being “ ‘addicted’ to pornography.” Hirsch is also charged with the repeated sexual assault of another LaFollette student in 2003 during her freshman and sophomore years, when she was 14. Authorities said Hirsch’s past actions with the girl were uncovered during the child pornography investigation.

From the Wisconsin State Journal : Hirsch was not reported in 2006.

Hirsch was allowed to quietly resign from the Madison School District in 2006 after a female student accused him of inappropriately touching her leg, according to interviews and public records.

And a May 2006 agreement forbade Madison officials from notifying the state Department of Public Instruction of the girl 's accusations against Anthony Hirsch, who was a special education assistant at La Follette High School.

Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater said Thursday that Hirsch 's conduct in 2006 didn 't meet that threshold to trigger notifying DPI.

"The district agreed to the conditions set forth in the memorandum in return for Mr. Hirsch 's resignation because while the district had concerns arising out of Mr. Hirsch 's conduct, the conduct did not rise to the level of terminable offense, " Rainwater said in a statement.

"The district agreed that it would not file a report with the Department of Public Instruction regarding Mr. Hirsch because the conduct at issue was not of the nature that required a report be made. "

More importantly, the school had to agree to provide a "neutral reference for Hirsch.

The agreement required the district to provide potential employers with a "neutral reference " of Hirsch limited to title, dates of employment and salary. It was signed by Hirsch, Madison Teachers Inc. Executive Director John Matthews and district Director of Labor Relations Duane McCrary.

---------------------------
TRIAL - Jury selection to begin June 16, 2008 8:30 am

NO CONTEST PLEA June 5 - Hirsch pleaded no contest to the repeated sexual assault of a child. In exchange for his plea. prosecutors agreed to drop child pornography charges.

Despite state law requiring school officials to report any reasonable suspicions of immoral conduct by a licensed educator to the Department of Public Instruction, Hirsch's resignation agreement stipulated no report to the state be made. Madison schools superintendent Art Rainwater has said Hirsch's alleged actions did not rise to a level to trigger the mandatory reporting.

During the investigation of the child pornography charges, police learned of his prior actions.

When detectives asked the young woman if she had been involved intimately with Hirsch, she hung her head and cried. The woman said that she was 14 and in the second semester of her freshman year at La Follette when she began an affair with Hirsch, meeting him often at his condominium near the school, where they would engage in sex.

---------------
TT - Surely it is up to the district attorney to decide if the actions rose "to the level of mandatory reporting," not a school superintendent. How can you trust the word of a school district that made that kind of awful agreement?

That's the problem with school districts who conduct Our Own Investigation. They have neither the incentive nor the trained personnel to conduct a thorough investigation. They have no knowledge of the rules of evidence, and no knowledge of the laws that might have been broken and no authority to compel cooperation. And amazingly, most often, they never find the evidence or witnesses that police manage to find.

When the hell will that stop?

Delafield, WISCONSIN

May 28, 2008 - Craig Gullicksen, 59, an instructor at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy, was sentenced to six months in jail - not prison - after he was convicted in Waukesha County Circuit Court of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

He was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree sexual assault of a child. However, he will not have to register as a sex offender unless he violates the terms of his probation. The judge ordered the jail term with family and work release privileges. He also stayed two consecutive nine-month jail terms for the other two counts - also subject to the terms of probation. His attorney asked

that Gullicksen's sentence be withheld so he can continue to work and take care of his wife, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in February.
"I did what was appropriate and necessary. The problems faced by Mr. Gullicksen and his family are very real, but they pale in comparison to the problems that this child will face,"[Circuit Judge Ralph] Ramirez said.

Gullicksen will serve three years of probation.
Full Name: Craig A. Gullicksen

Gullicksen was a teacher at St. John's for the last 10 years and he also taught in Sussex, Waukesha and Milwaukee Public Schools.

Sept 27, 2007 - Teacher charged in sex assaults
Sept 27, 2007 - Instructor Accused Of Sexually Abusing Child
The girl told investigators the touching started a year ago when she was nine. She said it has gotten worse since then.According to the criminal complaint, Gullicksen admitted he touched her five to ten times in the bedroom of his Brookfield home.

Pewaukee, WISCONSIN

May 23, 2008 - Jacqueline Plant, 34, a kindergarten teacher at Pewaukee Lake Elementary School, was charged with two felony counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, four misdemeanor counts of possessing/illegally obtaining a prescription and one misdemeanor count of obstructing an officer.

A Waukesha doctor turned Plant in on April 15 after he thought she was making up fake names to get more prescriptions. Then on April 29, she was picked up for operating her car under the influence in Jefferson County. According to the complaint, Plant told police she used her real name to obtain prescriptions from four doctors and fake names with at least three doctors to obtain medication for pain.

She told police she was substitute teacher at Summit View Elementary School in the Waukesha district. She actually taught in the Pewaukee School District. She is on paid administrative leave.
She is due in court on June 11.

Appleton, WISCONSIN

May 7, 2008 - Daniel Callan, 25, a first year fifth-grade teacher at St. Bernadette School, was arrested Tuesday, for accused of using conversations about sex in the fifth-grade classroom to groom a student for sexual encounters.

Callan was charged with two counts of indecent exposure, causing a child to view sexual activity and first-degree sexual assault of a child.

According to the criminal complaint, a boy told Callan he didn't know what sex was, and the incidents happened when the teacher met with the boy after class several times, most recently on Monday.

The school sent an email Wednesday morning about the case.
Full Name: Daniel L. Callan

May 8 - The criminal complaint says Callan exposed himself to students in his classroom and then touched the boy in a school bathroom. It says Callan escalated his behavior first by talking about sex with the boy, then by exposing himself, then by inappropriately touching the child.

According to the criminal complaint, Callan confessed and said he "felt terrible about what happened."

CONTINUED TO TEACH May 8 - WBAY alleges that Callan continued to teach and was not removed from the classroom even after the police investigation began. Callan was allowed to teach on Tuesday after the school system was notified of the allegations. The station wonders why "no one else reported the alleged sexual comments to another teacher or the principal." [They didn't put quotes around "alleged" but

TT - How about because grooming a child means singling out children based on their particular vulnerability and only after carefully weighing the chances of being caught? Pedophiles discuss such techinques in chatrooms on the Internet. Part of the excitement is the act of seduction because it is sly and cunning and a lot of the thrill is the intense power the abuser experiences with success. Fifth graders aren't quite clued into that kind of perversity.

May 15 - Callan may have worked in dozens of schools in northeastern Wisconsin schools over the past five years. WBAY- TV reported that a victim helped police get incriminating statements from the defendant.

The complaint says during the call the boy said "that he was sick and upset by what happened the day before, and that Callan said he was sorry for what happened."

According to the complaint the boy also said "that he was going to tell his mom what happened" and Callan asked the boy "if they could just forget about what happened, and that he would get fired if (the boy) told others what happened."

Callan also stated "that he could be arrested for what happened."

TRIAL SCHEDULED May 29 - An Appleton investigator who says Daniel Callan admitted to sexually assaulting a student took the stand at Callan's hearing Thursday. Callan will be back in court in July.

NO CHARGES IN WINNEGAGO COUNTY June 10 - Callan will not face additional criminal charges in Winnebago County. The Winnebago County district attorney's office tells Action 2 News it won't file charges against Callan in their county, but that the case will be handled in conjunction with the other charges in Outagamie County.

Rice Lake, WISCONSIN

Six children and she does something stupid like this.

GUILTY VERDICT Feb 8, 2008 - A jury found
Jane M. Dettmering, 39, guilty in the June 2006 arson of her family's home. She was a speech therapist for the Barron Area School District.

The school district had chosen not to renew Dettmering's contract shortly before the suspicious blaze took place at the home, and the family also had a sizable mortgage on the residence.

Dettmering’s two older children told investigators that much of their personal clothing and toys, which were in the house two days before the fire, had been removed from the house and stored in the garage.

Background
The March 2007 story of her arrest is illuminating.

She allegedly told authorities that she had left the home with three of her children in her van between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. that day and headed into Barron to buy chocolate milk for the kids. She later realized that she had forgotten her check card and retuned to the residence.

Upon arrival, she saw smoke coming from an upstairs window, and immediately drove her children to her daycare provider, who lives approximately 4.5 miles away.

The daycare provider told police that it was about 3:45 p.m. when Dettmering dropped the children off.

Dettmering then returned to her residence and made several trips into the home to retrieve personal items and other property in the master bedroom area of the house. Afterward, (approximately 4:28 p.m.) she then drove to a neighbor's residence and reported the fire.

Investigators found two sources of the fire. Special agents also looked into the Dettmering's credit and financial records and found that they had a "sizable" mortgage on the home and at least $70,000 in student loan debt.

TT - There's a picture of her in the March 2007 school newspaper, and you can't help thinking how devastating it must be for her husband and five children, and her whole family. And how very lucky that there were no injuries of fire department personnel.

SENTENCING scheduled for May 1, 2008.

SENTENCED May 2, 2008 - Dettmering was sentenced to five years in prison, stayed, followed by 15 years of extended supervision. The judge stayed sentence and placed her on probation, meaning she will go to prison if she violates terms of probation.. She will have to pay more than $115,000 in restitution aspart of her probation. She will serve one year in jail - not prison.

Her attorney said incarceration would cause "chaotic collateral consequences" on Dettmering's husband and six children and the students she teaches.

May 7 - The local paper explained judge James Babler's decision to sentence her to one year in jail and probation.

Judge James Babler explained that the lengthy period of probation was for Dettmering to pay an estimated $115,000 restitution to American Family Insurance. Her jail time will be served with work release privileges.

The judge had difficulty in deciding the sentence.

Babler said he had great difficulty in deciding on a sentence for Dettmering, partly because she was not a typical criminal.

He said he’d gotten a number of letters from community members attesting to her good character. Some said Dettmering couldn’t be guilty, said Babler. He added that Dettmering was highly educated and that she was at low risk to re-offend.

TT - she doesn't have another house to burn down. Babler is now on our lowercase judge list for those judges who don't deserve the honorific capitalization of a title.

Colfax, WISCONSIN

Sentenced to 10 years for assaulting a mentally deficient man.

April 23, 2008 - Eugene Dunagan. 71, a former village of Colfax judge and Colfax school district teacher, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision. He was convicted during a court trial in February for the felony second-degree sexual assault of a mentally deficient man. The charges stem from April 2005.

Dunagan will be required to register as a sex offender.

During sentencing, Dunagan apologized to his family and friends and the victim and his family. To the victim he said: "I forgive you for what you have done to me. I pray for you every day that you will reconsider what you have done."

"The bottom line is you don't believe you did anything wrong," Judge Bill Stewart said during sentencing. "In 10 years you will be 81 years old. It's my belief given that term of incarceration that it will ensure no further vulnerable adults or minors have to worry about you grooming them or you being predatory."

Dunagan also faces a sexual assault charge from incidents in September 2006. He is accused of having sexual intercourse with a now 18-year-old mentally deficient man. A pretrial status conference is scheduled May 30.
Full Name: Eugene E. Dunagan

June 11, 2007 - D.A. wants testimony from second Dunagan case admissible in the first case
Sept 4, 2007 - No decision yet in Dunagan case
Apr 11, 2008 - Former Judge Faces More Sex Abuse Charges