HUDSON, Wis. — A former teacher in Hudson, Wisconsin now faces a landslide of additional charges for her alleged relationship with a boy in her class.
St. Croix County prosecutors added nine new criminal counts to the single charge of first-degree child sexual assault that 24-year-old Madison Lynn Bergmann was facing. Among the charges included in the amended complaint filed against Bergmann on Aug. 15 are child enticement, sexual misconduct by school staff, and use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime.
Bergmann was arrested and charged in early May after the principal of River Crest Elementary called Hudson police to report possible inappropriate conduct between a teacher and one of her fifth-grade students. Investigators were shown screenshots of a text conversation between Bergmann and the boy, with her talking about how much she enjoyed the child touching her and the pair "making out."
A search of Bergmann's bag uncovered handwritten notes between the teacher and her student. Nearly 100 letters, love notes and artwork between the two were later recovered from Bergmann's classroom. When interviewed by police, the boy confirmed that he and Bergmann had touched each other in the classroom when other kids couldn't see and that they had kissed several times after school or during lunch break.
Prosecutors say a forensic search of the two cell phones revealed more than 35,000 text messages between Bergmann and her student, while a search of Bergmann's computer uncovered nearly three dozen emails exchanged between teacher and student. Many of them described touching and kissing, and each of them wanted the relationship to escalate.
The amended complaint contains 10 separate criminal counts related to additional evidence recovered during the investigation.
Madison Bergmann resigned her position with the Hudson Public Schools on May 13.