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Oconto Falls Schools Grooming Lawsuit
There is already a call for the state to take a harder look at teacher grooming after the lawsuit against Oconto Falls Schools.
A Milwaukee-based law firm on Wednesday filed a sweeping suit against Oconto Falls Schools claiming the district “had knowledge of a pervasive pattern and practice of teacher-student sexual abuse at Oconto Falls High School involving multiple teachers and multiple victims spanning multiple years.”
Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, immediately said this is why lawmakers demanded an audit for the state’s Department of Public Instruction.
“All sexual abuse allegations deserve serious investigation by our justice system. Students in our community should feel safe when they walk the halls of our schools – and especially safe from predators who disguise themselves as someone their victims know and trust," Wimberger said. "This lawsuit again highlights the need for the results of our statewide audit of how the Department of Public Instruction handles grooming and sexual misconduct allegations."
Wimberger led the effort to audit DPI last fall following The Cap Times investigation that showed not only were 200 teachers investigated for grooming and/or sexual misconduct, but some of them were allowed to walk away from those investigations by simply surrendering their teaching licenses.
In Oconto Falls, the lawsuit alleges that at least eight teachers groomed or abused at least 14 students over a nearly 20-year period.
The school district on Wednesday pushed back, and said it looked into grooming cases, and handed them over to authorities.
“Plaintiffs threatened to sue the District and made substantial monetary demands in August 2025,” Oconto Falls Schools said in a statement. “Since August, the District has responded to plaintiffs and their attorney to recognize the wrongs by these two former employees, but also to help them understand that the District took prompt action when it was made aware of the misconduct.
Wimberger said he is looking forward to the audit into grooming and DPI, though he did not say when he expects to get that audit.
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