A Wisconsin middle school teacher is facing sexual assault charges after police say she grabbed a student’s buttocks in class.
Christy Mathis, 50, was working as an art teacher at Mosinee Middle School in Wausau, Wisc., until the incident on March 25.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Wausau Daily Herald, a 12-year-old female student told police she was in Mathis’ art class, when Mathis touched her back, and then slid her hand down until she cupped the student’s buttocks.
The girl said she asked other students in the classroom, “Did that just happen?” The other students allegedly confirmed that it had happened, according to Marathon County Assistant District Attorney Hannah Boeck.
Mathis was arrested and charged with sexual assault of a student by school staff. According to WAOW-TV, a judge set her bail at a $10,000 signature bond with $5,000 in cash. She is currently free, pending a hearing on April 23.
In a statement on Tuesday, Mosinee School District Superintendent David Muñoz said the district has removed Mathis from her position and put her on administrative leave while the district and police each immediately began investigations.
According to the Wausau Daily Herald, Defense attorney Jessa Nicholson Goetz argued at the bond hearing that Mathis has no criminal history, has owned a home in the area for 25 years, and is the mother of two children. Nicholson Goetz also said that Mathis has not yet been fired from her job. Because she taught at the school for 20 years, she may be eligible for retirement.
*story by People
(*) WhitePrideHomeSchool.com