Disgraced Teacher Seeks Permission to Be Around Children Again

Teacher’s Alleged Misconduct

Madi­son Bergmann, a 24-year-old for­mer teacher in Wis­con­sin, is ask­ing a judge to clar­i­fy the con­di­tions of her bond, which cur­rent­ly bars her from being in any place where chil­dren are present. 

Bergmann was charged with first-degree child sex­u­al assault in May after she was alleged­ly caught “mak­ing out” with an 11-year-old stu­dent in her classroom.

Accord­ing to the crim­i­nal com­plaint, Bergman­n’s abuse of the stu­dent came to light when the child’s par­ents dis­cov­ered sala­cious text mes­sages between the pair, includ­ing dis­cus­sions of mul­ti­ple encoun­ters inside the classroom.

Some of the alleged assaults even hap­pened dur­ing lunch or after school in Bergman­n’s fifth-grade classroom.

Ongoing Legal Battle

Bergmann has plead­ed not guilty to the charges and has filed a motion to dis­miss the crim­i­nal com­plaint, which has angered her for­mer col­leagues at Riv­er Crest Ele­men­tary School.

One teacher described the sit­u­a­tion as a “wake of destruc­tion” at the school, with anoth­er fifth-grade teacher also resign­ing in the aftermath.

The school dis­trict has vowed to seek jus­tice in the case, and the super­in­ten­dent has said the dis­trict is con­duct­ing its own inves­ti­ga­tion to deter­mine if any oth­er actions should have been taken.

Reaction from the Community

The alleged abuse has caused a sig­nif­i­cant dis­rup­tion at the school, with par­ents and teach­ers alike express­ing con­cerns about the safe­ty of the stu­dents. The father of the vic­tim report­ed­ly stormed into the school, demand­ing action after dis­cov­er­ing the text messages.

Bergman­n’s impend­ing wed­ding to her fiancé, Sam Hick­man, was also called off after the charges were filed. Hick­man’s friend described the sit­u­a­tion as “f–ked up” and said the groom-to-be was “real­ly, real­ly hurt” by the allegations.