A disgraced Wisconsin teacher accused of sexually assaulting her 11-year-old student allegedly sent him more than 33,000 racy texts — some so explicit that the 23-year-old bowed her head in shame as they were read in open court on Monday.
During a preliminary hearing in St. Croix County Circuit Court, attorneys sparred over whether the evidence supported the 10 felony charges against Madison Bergmann, including first-degree child sex assault, child enticement and multiple counts of sexual misconduct by a school staff member.
During the hearing, school resource officer Traci Hall told the court that Bergmann and the victim exchanged the staggering number of texts in the early part of this year.
“There were approximately 33,000,” Hall told the court, adding that the relationship became more sexual and explicit as time went on.
“There’s a conversation about the victim being hard, and if she felt that during their hug,” he said. “Did she acknowledge that she felt it?”
“Yes,” Hall responded.
“What else did she say?” Anderson asked.
“That she would wear dresses more often because she liked how he touched her leg,” Hall responded.
“Does Ms. Bergmann ever allude to being sexually aroused in the text messages?” Anderson asked.
“She talks about being wet in the classroom,” Hall responded, as Bergmann looked downwards.
But attorneys for the teacher insisted that she has been overcharged, arguing the text messages alone were not sufficient to support five charges of sexual misconduct.
“There is never any language where she says ‘I want to have sex with you,” argued attorney Joseph Tamburino, “or that he says ‘I want you to do this with me.’”
“They talk a lot about kissing, and lips, and cheeks, and touching legs,” Tamburino continued. “They also talk about some sexual issues, obviously, about a woman’s body and a man’s body. But nothing like ‘this is what I want you to do to me,’ or ‘this is what I will do to you.’”
A judge disagreed, and found the text messages were admissible evidence of sexual misconduct on the part of Bergmann.
“It’s clear to me that the state has met its burden to find probable cause that the defendant has committed a felony,” the judge ruled in moving the case forward. “Clearly, there was probable cause presented by the detective today. The case is bound to go for trial.”
Bergmann made headlines in May when she was accused of “making out” with the fifth-grader weeks before her wedding. Bergmann has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The teacher’s alleged abuse of the 11-year-old boy came to light when the student’s mother overheard her son talking to Bergmann on the phone, according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Post. Suspicious, the parents checked his phone and allegedly found the salacious texts between the pair.
The deranged back and forth included messages from Bergmann allegedly discussing multiple encounters inside the Hudson, Wisconsin, classroom during lunch or after school. She allegedly told the child how much she enjoyed him touching her and “making out.”
Some of the alleged assaults even happened in Bergmann’s classroom, according to the complaint.
