US teacher allegedly caught ‘making out’ with student wants to be around kids again

A US teacher who allegedly sexually abused her student has asked a question of the judge while former teachers have their say.

Madison Bergmann, the Wisconsin teacher caught allegedly “making out” with an 11-year-old in her classroom, has asked a judge if it’s OK for her to be around children again.

A lawyer for the 24-year-old former teacher – whose impending wedding was cancelled when she was charged with first-degree child sexual assault on May 2 – filed the request to clarify the conditions of her bond, The New York Post reports.

Currently, Ms Bergmann is barred from being in any place where children are present. In a motion filed in late July, her lawyer said she wants to know where she can visit restaurants and shops at stores where there could be children.

Ms Bergmann has also filed a motion to dismiss the criminal complaint. That request is not sitting well with her former colleagues at River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin – which is in the far west of the US state near Minneapolis.

Madison Bergmann's impending wedding was cancelled when she was charged with sexual assault of an 11-year-old student. Picture: Facebook

“It’s ridiculous. She has left a wake of destruction at the school, and she thinks she shouldn’t face the consequences for that?” one teacher told The Post.

The teacher said that Ms Bergmann’s firing set off a chain reaction at the school. Another fifth-grade teacher also resigned at the following school board meeting.

School board members said that the teacher who resigned may have known about Ms Bergmann’s behaviour but did not report it. That educator has not been charged with any crime.

Ms Bergmann has pleaded not guilty to first degree sexual assault of a child under 13. Picture: St Croix Police

“It’s been a weird summer. We’re all answering parents’ questions,” the former colleague said.

“When it comes to kids, everyone is so protective, and rightly so. But when two fifth-grade teachers get fired as part of a sex scandal, you have no idea how crazy things can get.”

According to the criminal complaint, Ms Bergmann’s alleged abuse of the 11-year-old boy came to light when the student’s mother overhead her son talking to the teacher on the phone.

Suspicious, the boy’s parents checked his phone and allegedly found inappropriate texts between the pair.

The text exchange allegedly included messages from Ms Bergmann allegedly discussing multiple encounters inside the classroom during lunch or after school. She allegedly told the child how much she enjoyed him touching her and “making out”.

River Crest Elementary School accepted Ms Bergmann’s resignation in May. Picture: Google Maps

Ms Bergmann’s fifth-grade classroom, where some of the alleged assaults took place. Picture: Facebook

Some of the alleged assaults even happened in Ms Bergmann’s fifth-grade classroom, according to the complaint.

The boy’s father then stormed into the school with printouts of the conversations, authorities said.

“That was a dramatic day,” the River Crest teacher told The Post.

“He was not calm about it, and he was not quiet.”

After Ms Bergmann was arrested, she was released on a $US25,000 ($37,677) signature bond. She is living in seclusion on her grandparents’ farm, family sources said.

The school district has vowed to seek whatever justice is necessary in the case.

“The district continues to work with law enforcement on this situation,” Hudson Schools Superintendent Nick Ouellette said in a May school board meeting.

“We are conducting our own investigation to determine what other actions should have been taken.”

Ms Bergmann and Sam Hickman were supposed to marry on July 27. Picture: Facebook

Ms Bergmann was supposed to get married in July – but the nuptials never happened. At the time, a friend told The Post that the accusations blindsided the groom-to-be, Sam Hickman.

“He’s really, really hurt. Not talking too much about it, just like, ‘This is f**ked up’,” the groom’s friend said.

“He says it was f**ked up that she cheated with a little kid.”

A lawyer for Ms Bergmann has not returned The Post’s requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on The New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as US teacher allegedly caught ‘making out’ with student wants to be around kids again