Laura M. Bates (Hilbert, Wisconsin), 44, teacher's aide at Appleton West High School, Appleton Area School District, Appleton, Wisconsin, "charges of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old male student" Green Bay Press-Gazette: Appleton West aide charged with sexually assaulting boy, 17 (Dec 3 2013) Laura M. Bates, 44, of Hilbert, has been charged with four felony counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff. She resigned her job at Appleton West on Monday after police interviewed her about the allegations. Bates admitted the relationship to investigators who were tipped off by the school district. Bates told police she and the boy — a special education student — were “soul mates.” A school district employee told administrators that Bates said she could not live without the boy, and school superintendent Lee Allinger reported the allegation to the Appleton Police Department. Officers questioned the aide after she arrived at school Monday morning and handed the case over to Calumet County. Additional charges against Bates could be filed later this week in Outagamie County. The Kaukauna Police Department is investigating multiple incidents involving Bates and the 17-year-old victim that took place in Kaukauna, where the teen lives, Lt. Jamie Graff said Tuesday. Manitowoc Hub: Appleton West teacher's aide Laura M. Bates resigns after allegations she sexually assaulted student (Dec 3 2013) Tags:
Journal Sentinel: Ex-Appleton teachers aide charged with sex assault of student (Dec 3 2013) Forty-four-year-old Laura Bates is accused of having sex with the 17-year-old boy at her home in Calumet County ... She faces four felony counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff. Bates worked at Appleton West High School as a teachers aide. District officials say Bates resigned Monday after being questioned by police.
620 WTMJ: Appleton West Employee Arrested, Accused of Sexual Assault of a Student (Dec 3 2013) A relative reported the relationship to police last week. [Laura] Bates resigned from her teacher's assistant job when confronted by police about the relationship with her student. Bates and the student were in the same special needs classroom at the high school for three years. According to police, the relationship turned sexual last month ... According to the criminal complaint, Bates explained she had very strong feelings for the victim and felt she was in love with him. She also indicated there were times when she thought he was her "soul mate." ... Bates told police she sex with the boy several times in the basement of her Hilbert home. None of the alleged sex acts occurred on school property. She was released on a $20,000 signature bond. She will be allowed to have contact with her three children while out on bond, but she is barred from unsupervised contact with any other children.
WTAQ: Teacher's aide at Appleton high school accused of sexual assault (Dec 3 2013) Sheriff's investigators say the victim and Bates developed a relationship beyond that of a normal teacher-student over the past year. Bates told authorities she loved the boy, and it turned sexual in November ... Police indicate a relative of Bates, who's married with 3 children, tipped off authorities about the sexual relationship Friday. It happened after Bates told that person it was, "too late" to stop it before it turned physical.Lt. Mark Wiegert of the Calumet County Sheriff's Department says there is no reason to believe there are other victims.
Wisconsin Radio Network: Appleton teacher’s aide charged with student sex (Dec 3 2013) Court records say Laura Bates believed the two were in love, and that the 17-year-old boy was “her soul mate.” ... Records say Bates was a paraprofessional, and she worked in the boy’s classroom for the last three years. The boy is classified as a special ed student. Prosecutors say their relationship turned sexual, at the beginning of last month, while the two were at her home in the town of Chilton.
Post-Crescent: Former Appleton teacher's aide now charged with sexual assault in Outagamie County (Mar 3 2014) The former Appleton teacher’s aide charged in December with sexually assaulting a student in Calumet County is now facing charges in Outagamie County. Laura M. Bates, 44, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault of a student by a school staff member. The charges in Outagamie County accuse Bates of two instances of sexual assault on Nov. 1 and Nov. 30. The Outagamie County charges, filed Friday, come three months after Bates told police she had sex with a 17-year-old student several times beginning in early November. It is the same student Bates is accused of assaulting in Calumet County.
Post Crescent: Former Appleton teacher's aide faces more sexual assault charges (Mar 3 2014) One day after Bates was arrested in December, the victim’s mother told police she thought it was odd her son was spending so much time with Bates, according to the criminal complaint filed Friday. The pair would go on long walks at night, and once the mother woke up at 2:30 a.m. and found her son on the phone with Bates, she told police. The mother said she and Bates became friends through their contact at school, as the student worked with Bates for three years in the district’s behavioral disabilities program, the complaint stated. She said she allowed her son to spend time with Bates’ family and do yard work at their Hilbert residence. When the student’s grandfather fell ill, Bates volunteered to drive the student home, the mother told police.On Nov. 30, the mother said she and Bates went to bars on College Avenue in Appleton and returned to the victim’s Kaukauna home. At that point, Bates said she was too tired to drive back to Hilbert and slept over. The teen later told his mother and police that he and Bates had sex that night in their basement, the complaint stated. He also told police Bates performed oral sex on a hiking trail near the Kaukauna Environmental Center earlier that month ... Bates told police at times she thought she and the boy were “soul mates,” according to Calumet County court records.
Ex-teacher's aide pleads not guilty to sexual assault of student A former Appleton teacher's aide pleaded not guilty in Outagamie County court Monday to charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student. Laura M. Bates, 44, of Hilbert, is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff stemming from two incidents in Kaukauna last year. Bates is also charged with four counts of the same charge in Calumet County after she admitted to ... Continue reading... http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20140623/APC0101/306230204/1626 Ex-teacher's aide pleads not guilty to sexual assault of student APPLETON — A former Appleton teacher’s aide pleaded not guilty in Outagamie County court Monday to charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student. Laura M. Bates, 44, of Hilbert, is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school ... Continue reading... http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20140623/APC0101/306230204/Ex-teacher-s-aide-pleads-not-guilty-sexual-assault-student Ex-teacher's aide pleads not guilty to sexual assault of student APPLETON — A former Appleton teacher’s aide pleaded not guilty in Outagamie County court Monday to charges of sexually assaulting a teenage student. Laura M. Bates, 44, of Hilbert, is charged with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school ... Continue reading... http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20140623/APC0101/306230204/Ex-teacher-s-aide-pleads-not-guilty-sexual-assault-student
Plea set in teacher's aide sexual assault cases Former Appleton teacher's aide Laura Bates said Tuesday she will plead no contest to three counts of sexual assault of a student, narrowly avoiding a jury trial set to begin next week. Prosecutors will ask a Calumet County judge to sentence Bates to five or six years of probation and one year in jail with work release privileges as part of the plea agreement. They will also recommend Bates be placed on the sex offender registry and have no unsupervised contact with minors. Continue reading... http://www.postcrescent.com/story/n...t-teacher-aide-sexual-assault-cases/17263825/
Ex-Wisconsin teacher aide takes deal in sex case Post-Crescent Media reports 45-year-old Laura Bates of Hilbert said Tuesday she will plead no contest in Calumet County court to three counts of sexual assault of a student. A jury trial was set to start next week. Prosecutors will ask for a one-year jail sentence and five or six years of probation as part of the agreement. They will recommend Bates be placed on the sex offender registry and not have unsupervised contact with minors. Continue reading... http://www.wkow.com/story/26790775/ex-wisconsin-teacher-aide-takes-deal-in-sex-case Ex-teacher aide takes deal in sex case Post-Crescent Media reported 45-year-old Laura Bates of Hilbert said Tuesday she will plead no contest in Calumet County court to three counts of sexual assault of a student. A jury trial was set to start next week. Prosecutors will ask for a one-year jail sentence and five or six years of probation as part of the agreement. They will recommend Bates be placed on the sex offender registry and not have unsupervised contact with minors. Continue reading... http://www.channel3000.com/education/exteacher-aide-takes-deal-in-sex-case/29138786 Ex-teacher expected to plead to sexual assault of student in Appleton Post-Crescent Media reported that 45-year-old Laura Bates of Hilbert said Tuesday she will plead no contest in Calumet County court to three counts of sexual assault of a student. A jury trial was set to start next week. Prosecutors will ask for a one-year jail sentence and five or six years of probation as part of the agreement. They will recommend Bates be placed on the sex offender registry and not have unsupervised contact with minors. Continue reading... http://www.jsonline.com/news/crime/...tudent-in-appleton-b99371544z1-279265082.html
GUILTY April 9th 2015 CHILTON - A former teacher's aide will be in jail for a year for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old special education student.45-year-old Laura Ernst worked at Appleton's West High School at the time.Ernst told the court Thursday what she did was wrong."Saying I'm sorry isn't okay. It's not good enough," she said.Prosecutors say Ernst had sexual relations with a student both at the school, as well as at her former home in the town of Harrison in 2013.She was originally charged in both Calumet and Outagamie Counties. As part of a plea deal, the charges were consolidated in Calument County and some were dropped."For a paraprofessional to conduct a sexual relationship with a student is egregious behaviour," said Angela Sutkiewicz the Sheboygan County Judge who oversaw the case.During sentencing the judge read part of a letter from the victim's parents."'We trusted Laura with our son and she abused that trust. She has hurt him in a way that will have long-term consequences,'" Sutkiewicz read.The judge sentenced Ernst to a year in jail and five years probation.Ernst said she realizes she's hurt a lot of people, including the victim and her own three children."I am completely cognizant of how this has spiderwebbed and affected many people. It is not something that is ever going to happen again," Ernst told the court.In addition to jail and probation time, Ernst will also have to register as a sex offender. Ernst was previously known by her married name, Laura Bates. Since a divorce, she has retaken her maiden name. http://fox11online.com/news/local/former-teachers-aide-sentenced-in-sexual-assault-case