Two Madison Metropolitan School District teachers and one Eau Claire teacher in the past month have been criminally charged, while a federal lawsuit filed in mid-March alleges the single biggest teacher sex scandal in state history in Oconto Falls. What is going on in Wisconsin’s schools?
Wisconsin schools have seen a sudden rash of sexual misconduct cases by teachers in recent weeks, including multiple arrests in the Madison Metropolitan School District and a federal lawsuit alleging years of unchecked grooming and abuse in Oconto Falls.
In Madison, David Fawcett, 58, a REACH teacher at Nuestro Mundo Community School, was arrested in early February on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and three counts of possession of child pornography. The investigation began after authorities in Texas referred a case involving Fawcett allegedly sending explicit messages and soliciting nude photos and videos from a 15-year-old girl.
Madison police executed a search warrant at his home and found child sexual abuse material on his devices. He was placed on administrative leave by the district and later indicted on federal charges of producing child pornography.
Two weeks later, Eliav M. Goldman, a music teacher at Vel Phillips Memorial High School and Toki Middle School, was arrested on charges of grooming a child, causing mental harm to a child and sexual misconduct by a school staff person. Police opened the investigation after the district reported an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Madison Metropolitan School District placed Goldman on administrative leave. The arrest came just weeks after the Republican Wisconsin Legislature passed a new law making sexual grooming of a child a felony.
In Eau Claire, Nadia M. Horn, 22, a special education teacher at North High School, was arrested March 25 on charges of second-degree sexual assault of a child and sexual assault of a child by a school staff person. Police said the district notified them of a potential inappropriate relationship reported to a school resource officer. Investigators identified multiple victims, according to authorities. Horn remained in the Eau Claire County Jail pending her initial court appearance.
Oconto Falls has seen the most extensive allegations. On March 11, three former students filed a federal Title IX lawsuit against the Oconto Falls School District, claiming a pattern of teacher-student grooming, sexual conduct and abuse at Oconto Falls High School spanning more than 15 years.
The suit named eight current or former employees and alleged the district board maintained unwritten policies of deliberate indifference. Plaintiffs said they learned the full scope only in fall 2025.
Additional former students and two former teachers have since come forward, bringing the number of known victims to at least 14 from 2005 to 2025 and naming a total of nine staff members. Brynn Larsen, a former substitute teacher and volleyball coach, pleaded no contest in 2021 to third-degree sexual assault of a student and served two years in prison. Gayle Gander, an English language arts teacher, was arrested in December on child enticement and sexual misconduct charges involving multiple students and is awaiting trial. The district has said it investigated and referred prior complaints to law enforcement.
Other recent cases include the December 2025 sentencing of former Hudson elementary teacher Madison Bergmann, 26, to six years in prison after she pleaded guilty to child enticement and sexual misconduct involving an 11-year-old student in her class. The relationship included thousands of text messages.
Last year, The Capital Times published a series titled “Dismissed” that examined the state Department of Public Instruction’s handling of educator misconduct. The investigation found DPI reviewed more than 200 cases of alleged sexual misconduct or grooming by teachers, aides, substitutes and administrators from 2018 to 2023 — at least 44% of all educator license investigations in that period.
The series reported that DPI’s practices often kept details from public view, with some educators allowed to surrender licenses quietly or continue teaching without clear public disclosure of findings. Districts sometimes charged thousands of dollars for public records requests on such investigations.
Republican lawmakers responded by demanding greater transparency and accountability from DPI, questioning whether the agency adequately protected students or shared information with the public and local schools.
State Superintendent Jill Underly defended the department’s processes, saying every allegation receives serious review and records are released according to open records laws. However, DPI does not have a statewide tracking system specifically for sexual misconduct allegations in Wisconsin schools.
The recent incidents have renewed debate over school oversight and how quickly districts and DPI respond to complaints involving educators and students.
