Warning: This article contains descriptions of child abuse that some readers may find disturbing
The text messages sent from an elementary school teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor have been revealed in court.
Madison Bergmann is set to stand trial for ten charges, including first-degree child sex assault, five counts of sexual misconduct by a school staff member, and enticing a child for sexual contact.
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The former teacher at River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin, will appear in court where she'll face all ten charges. The three other felonies are for the use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, exposing a child to harmful descriptions and child enticement causing mental or bodily harm.
Bergmann was arrested on May 1 on the suspicion of 'making out' with a fifth grade student, who was caught out by his mom after she overheard him talking to his teacher one day after school.
She confiscated the 11-year-old's phone and looked at his messages, where she found conversations between the pair.
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Police officers were made aware after being called to the school and presented with screenshots of the text conversations, which discussed encounters between the student and the teacher.
The meetings allegedly occurred inside the classroom during lunch or after school.
Yesterday (September 12), the 24-year-old failed to convince a judge that the charges should be dropped due to the fact that the text messages she and the young boy exchanged were not specific enough to warrant such action.
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In the text message in question, the boy is alleged to have wrote 'you were touching my chest a lot', when describing an intimate moment they are alleged to have had together.
But it wasn't the only message they exchanged, as the judge read them out to the court.
In one message, the accused wrote: “I love having my hand on your chest. I could feel your heart beating so much haha."
To which the child replied: "Haha it was beating so fast. I was so surprised and I loved it because you just kept kissing me.”
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Another of the messages Bergmann allegedly wrote read: "When everyone was cleaning after reading, I was standing at the front and you were too, and I touched your chest.
“When I grabbed your shirt and I pulled you into me, oh my goodness… I want to lick your abs haha.”
Bergmann's attorney Joseph Tamburino spoke in court as he argued the case that his client's actions did not warrant sexual assault charges, saying: “Under Wisconsin statutes, there has to be touching of an intimate part in order for there to be sexual contact.
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"What are those parts? The breast, buttocks, anus, groin, scrotum, penis, vagina, or pubic mound of a human being. The statute does not say it’s the ‘chest’ or the ‘chest area.'”
The judge replied: "It would be absurd to require a child to use the same language that the state legislature has chosen for our statues."
Bergmann was engaged when she was hit with the charges, but the couple called off the wedding that was set to be held on 27 July after the allegations came to light.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Joe Yates