A formerly engaged Wisconsin teacher ended up sobbing in court after she was sentenced to six years in prison over explicit conduct with an 11-year-old student.
Madison Bergmann, 26, admitted to sending roughly 35,000 explicit messages over three months and engaging in inappropriate physical contact with the boy.
Prosecutors had pushed for a 12-year imprisonment, but a plea deal reduced her term. Despite this, her actions resulted in the end of both her teaching career and her engagement.
Highlights
- A 26-year-old ex-teacher from Wisconsin broke down in court after being sentenced for inappropriate misconduct.
- She had exchanged about 35,000 explicit messages and allegedly engaged in physical contact with 11YO student.
- Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence, but a plea deal led to a six-year prison term with strict post-release supervision instead.
Bergmann sent tens of thousands of explicit messages to her 11-year-old student
Before the controversy erupted, Bergmann taught fifth grade at River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, WI.
A student’s father found approximately 35,000 explicit texts exchanged between Bergmann and his 11-year-old son over three months.
Many of the messages detailed intimate encounters, with some gushing about “making out” and touching. The boy’s father testified that some of the texts he discovered between his son and Bergmann were “disturbing.”
Police also found a classroom folder containing handwritten notes under the student’s name that referenced alleged kisses. The discovery prompted a full investigation, resulting in her arrest.
Bergmann pleaded guilty to one count of child enticement and two counts of s*xual misconduct by school staff.
Several additional charges, such as first-degree s*xual a**ault of a child and using a computer to facilitate the crimes, were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
Bergmann broke down during her sentencing while prosecutors pushed for 12 years in prison
During her sentencing, Bergmann requested a one-year term despite fully acknowledging her actions.
“I want to make it absolutely clear that I take full accountability for every boundary that was crossed,” she told the judge.
“I hope that your family has been able to begin to heal and find some peace in your lives again. I know the journey will be long for your family,” she added, addressing her victim.
Footage shows the teacher breaking down, holding her face in her hands as the judge announces her six-year prison sentence.
Once her incarceration is complete, Bergmann will serve an additional six years of extended supervision with strict conditions.
These include no contact with minors without approval, mandatory registration as an offender, restricted internet access, and limited social media use, among others.
Despite Bergmann’s sentence, the 11-year-old’s father stated that her punishment for her crime should be more severe.
“To his own credit, [my son] is like ‘I have to live with this forever. Whatever punishment she receives should be forever.’”
“When I review the texts too, it’s very deliberate, talking about touching his leg, talking to my 11-year-old son about her period, talking about his e*ections… To me it’s very disturbing stuff,” the 11-year-old’s father said.
Prior to her arrest, Bergmann had been engaged, with a wedding planned for July 2024. Her fiancé canceled the wedding amid the allegations.
Considering the terms of her plea deal, it also seems certain that Bergmann’s teaching career is over, and she will never work with children ever again.