Former Teacher Allegedly Rubbed Genitals Against 14-Year-Old Student, Sexually Assaulted Another Teenager

The trial began Tuesday for a former high school teacher in Wisconsin, who was accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student more than two decades ago.

Outagamie County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Leigl told the jury in his opening statement that Jason LaVigne, 46, who used to teach at Little Chute High School, had a dark side and that hearing about the allegations against him was not “going to be pleasant.”

According to the criminal complaint, obtained by USA Today-affiliated Post Crescent, the victim sent an email to a school counselor in 2009 detailing instances when LaVigne had displayed inappropriate behavior toward her. The unidentified victim said the suspect had rubbed his erect penis against her a number of times during a keyboarding class. She said she was a freshman at the school when the incidents took place, almost a decade earlier.

Although Wisconsin requires school employees to report suspected child abuse or neglect to the police or child protective services, David Botz, the Little Chute Area School District superintendent, did not contact state authorities or the Little Chute school resource officer after being made aware of the email. After looking into the matter, he concluded there weren’t enough evidence to back the victim’s allegations.

The 2009 allegations resurfaced after LaVigne was charged with third-degree sexual assault in 2018 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an incident that took place in Marinette County. The suspect was in a cabin with his daughter and her teen friend when he took a ride on a pontoon boat with both of them. There he offered vodka lemonades to the girls. After his daughter passed out or fell asleep, he pulled the pontoon into a sandy beach area and sexually assaulted the victim. The teen reportedly tried to fend off the suspect but the latter did not stop, Fox 11 reported.

LaVigne, was placed on administrative leave after he was charged last year. He had worked at the high school since 1997.

The victim, who sent the email in 2009, was the prosecutor’s first witness. She took the stand and answered multiple questions about the accusations against LaVigne, adding that in one instance the accused asked her to meet him after class. He showed her a message typed on a computer apologizing for his actions and promised not to repeat his behavior. She added that she did not have the courage to voice her ordeal earlier because she was “shaken” by the series of events.

Leigl also told jurors that the suspect had a pattern of being sexually attracted to teenage girls. Frank Stupak, LaVigne's defense attorney, called the accusations against his client "absurd" and "ridiculous." "It just doesn't make any sense," Stupak said.

Trial for LaVigne's case in Marinette County was scheduled for late May.