Engaged Teacher Jailed
St. Croix County Jail

What should have been a safe classroom became the setting for a deeply troubling breach of trust.

A 26-year-old primary school teacher in Wisconsin has been sentenced to six years in prison after admitting she sent more than 35,000 text messages to an 11-year-old student and kissed him inside her classroom.

The case, which unfolded in Hudson, Wisconsin, has shaken parents, teachers and residents, raising urgent questions about safeguarding, oversight and how such behaviour went unnoticed until the child's family uncovered it.

How the Secret Messages Were Discovered

According to the Daily Mail, Madison Bergmann was working as a fifth-grade teacher at River Crest Elementary School when the inappropriate relationship came to light. The case began after the boy's father discovered a large number of text messages sent by Bergmann to his son over a short period.

Investigators later confirmed that Bergmann had exchanged more than 35,000 messages with the child between February and April 2024. According to Yahoo News, that volume meant she sent an average of more than 2,000 messages per day. The boy's father told the court he found the messages deeply disturbing and immediately contacted authorities.

Police later searched Bergmann's classroom and made another alarming discovery. Officers found a folder labelled with the victim's name that contained nearly 100 handwritten love notes. According to Yahoo News, some of the notes referred to kissing and making out, confirming the physical contact Bergmann later admitted.

Court Hears Disturbing Details

During sentencing, Bergmann sobbed as she stood before the judge. According to the Daily Mail, she confessed to kissing the child in her classroom and acknowledged the inappropriate relationship. The court heard that the contact began after Bergmann obtained the boy's phone number during a school skiing trip over the winter break, reports KSTP.

The relationship then escalated rapidly, with near-daily communication. In the messages, Bergmann allegedly expressed affection for the child and said he wanted to touch him again. The boy's father later confronted Bergmann at the school, bringing printed copies of the messages into the classroom, according to court testimony.

Why the Sentence Was Reduced

At Friday's hearing, prosecutors pushed for a 12-year prison sentence, arguing the scale and seriousness of the abuse demanded a strong punishment. Bergmann's lawyer, however, requested a sentence of just one year in prison followed by probation.

The final sentence of six years was the result of a plea deal reached in September.

Bergmann pleaded guilty to one count of child enticement and two counts of sexual misconduct by school staff. In exchange, several more serious charges were dropped. These included first-degree sexual assault of a child, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, exposing a child to harmful descriptions, and additional counts of child enticement.

A Community Left Reeling

The case has shaken the Hudson community, raising serious questions about trust and school safety. Bergmann was recently engaged at the time of the offences, adding another layer of shock for those who knew her.

According to Yahoo News, the court also heard that a former colleague of Bergmann, Abigail Faust, is facing separate charges for inappropriate relationships with children. However, the cases are not directly connected.

No further charges were announced at sentencing, but the judge made it clear that the emotional harm caused could not be undone. Parents in attendance described the lasting impact on their family and the betrayal they felt when they placed trust in a teacher.

As Bergmann begins her six-year prison sentence, the case stands as a grim reminder of the damage caused when boundaries are broken in places meant to protect children.

For the victim and his family, the ruling closes one chapter, but the effects of what happened inside that classroom are likely to last far longer.

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