A one-time Hudson, Wis., elementary school teacher has admitted to sexual conduct with one of her fifth-grade students last year and faces up to 18 years in prison at sentencing.

Madison Lynn Bergmann (Courtesy of the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office)

Madison Lynn Bergmann, 25, of Lake Elmo, entered guilty pleas Monday in St. Croix County District County to one count of child enticement with sexual contact and two counts of sexual misconduct by school staff.

The May 2024 criminal complaint accused Bergmann of kissing the 11-year-old boy on the mouth and touching his leg in her classroom at Rivercrest Elementary School.

Several charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal she reached with prosecutors: one count each of first-degree child sexual assault of a child under age 13; use of a computer to commit a child sex crime; exposing a child to harmful descriptions; a third count of child enticement; and three additional counts of sexual conduct by a school staffer.

Bergmann’s $25,000 bond was revoked at the plea hearing and she was taken back into custody for sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 22.

Erica Ellenwood, deputy assistant district attorney, said Tuesday the child enticement charge carries up to 15 years of initial confinement and 10 years of extended supervision, while the other two charges each carry up to one and a half years.

Bergmann’s attorney, Joe Tamburino, declined to comment on the case Tuesday.

Bergmann is one of two former Rivercrest teachers facing sex crimes.

In August, Abigail Michelle Faust, 24, of Hudson, was charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court with sexual misconduct by school staff and other charges, alleging she also kissed a fifth-grade boy last year in her classroom at the end of a school day. She’s also accused of failing to report Bergmann’s sexual abuse of her student.

Last month, Faust was charged with various criminal counts in both St. Croix and Washington counties for allegedly sexually assaulting a Washington County 15-year-old boy while working as his family’s nanny.

Faust’s cases are ongoing.

Boy’s dad found text messages

According to the criminal complaint against Bergmann:

The illicit conduct was first discovered in April 2024 through several text messages between Bergmann and the boy. In a letter police then found in the boy’s desk, Bergmann told him, “I love you so much it hurts,” the complaint says.

The boy’s mother discovered Bergmann talking to her son on the phone, then emailed Bergmann, telling her to stop contacting the boy outside of school. The mother took the boy’s phone and gave it to his father, who found the text messages and notified the school.

Several printed screenshots of text messages between the boy and Bergmann were given to police. In one text, Bergmann wrote that she “wanted to just grab your face and push you to the floor and make out with you.” In another text, the teacher told the boy how she “almost kissed you when you were on the ground today but I got distracted by your stomach,” the complaint says.

In an interview Wednesday at the school, Bergmann said she spoke with the boy over the phone four or five times. She said that she had been invited to go snowboarding at Afton Alps with the boy and his family and she exchanged phone numbers with him in case they became separated.

When Bergmann was asked if there had been any text messages exchanged between her and the boy, she requested a lawyer.

Police found in Bergmann’s backpack a folder with the boy’s name on it and several handwritten notes. “In her notes she tells him that she loves him, wants to kiss him, he turns her on, and that she is obsessed with him,” the complaint says.

The boy told police they communicated almost daily.

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The boy said Bergmann had touched his hand, shin and thigh while he sat next to her desk during independent reading time and that “he did not believe any of the other kids would see it happening,” the complaint says.

The boy then told police Bergmann told him to stay after class and that she approached him and kissed him on the mouth. He said that Bergmann had kissed him several times in the classroom after school or during lunch, according to the complaint.

Bergmann started teaching for the Hudson School District in fall 2022. In an email to parents after her arrest, Superintendent Nick Ouellette called the allegations “gut wrenching” and added, “I want you to know the School District is taking this very seriously.”

A man is in custody after officials with White Bear Lake Area High School say he enrolled as a student using a fake identity.

“We received reports that an individual enrolled at WBLAHS was over the age of 21 and promptly started an investigation,” according to an email White Bear Lake Area Schools High School Principal Russell Reetz sent to parents. “Upon our initial investigation, we have determined that while enrolling this individual we followed our enrollment process, which is as rigorous as state law allows. The individual appears to have provided fraudulent documentation and a false identity to enroll.”

School officials investigated after they received reports of a person over 21 years of age having enrolled.

“The individual in question is currently in police custody and is not allowed on any district property,” according to Reetz’s email. They added that they are continuing to investigate the matter and are working with White Bear Lake police, which is also looking into the incident.

“Please rest assured that the safety and well-being of all students is our top priority,” Reetz said. “I am grateful to the staff members, families and students who saw something and decided to report it. These reports led to our investigation. We take all concerns seriously, and appropriate steps are taken any time there is a potential threat to student safety.”

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BY COLLIN BINKLEY

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration is close to reaching a deal with Harvard University, which it has targeted with a series of investigations and billions of dollars in funding cuts as it presses for changes to its policies and governance.

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A truce with the country’s oldest and wealthiest college would end a clash that has tested the independence of America’s colleges.

Trump came into office saying he would cut funding for schools that defied his agenda, vowing to eliminate “wokeness.” His pressure campaign zeroed in on the Ivy League institution after it rebuffed his demands.

Trump initially said a deal had been reached but then said officials were “close to finalizing” the agreement. “We haven’t done it yet,” he said at the White House.

Harvard and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A deal would open the door to a resolution of sanctions that have included cuts to more than $2.6 billion in Harvard’s research grants, losses of federal contracts, and efforts to cut off the school’s ability to enroll foreign students.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area was the focus of what officials termed a “first of its kind” operation to be expanded nationwide targeting people fraudulently seeking immigration benefits.

Operation Twin Shield kicked off Sept. 19 and wrapped up Monday, leading to multiple arrests, officials said at a joint press conference by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Citizen and Immigrations Services Director Joseph B. Edlow.

“I want the American people to know we are declaring war on immigration fraud,” he said. “We will continue to pursue those who seek to abuse our immigration system using every tool at our disposal.”

Operation Twin Shield is the first phase, he said.

“If you seek to commit immigration fraud in this country, you will find yourself meeting with our officers at USCIS,” he said. “You will meet officers within our federal partners at ICE, CBP, FBI, DEA, whoever is working with us. And you will find yourself not only without benefits but you will find yourself prosecuted.”

The agencies Edlow cited refer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

When asked why the Twin Cities was chosen for the first operation, Edlow said it was based on data.

“When you look at what we are seeing as concerning patterns of fraud, we’re seeing good cooperation here, especially among our field office, working with our federal agents. It just makes sense to start it in a city where we have a sense of what’s going on and where we can try to make an impact,” he said. “So it was really based on reviewing data. Like I said, this is not the only city where this is going to be, this is the first of many.”

Hundreds of cases

The operations efforts focused on site visits to verify information people had submitted for immigration benefits such as marriage and family-based petitions, employment authorizations and certain parole-related requests. The operation looked at 1,000 possible fraud cases and involved more than 900 site visits and in-person interviews. Out of those, there was evidence of 275 suspected fraud cases.

Asked by the Pioneer Press how many arrests had been made, officials said they don’t get into specific numbers but that there had been “multiple” arrests.

A press release said that, as of Tuesday, four people had been apprehended but that the number might increase as investigations are completed.

In addition, in 42 instances, people were issued notices to appear or referred to ICE.

Examples

Edlow gave a few examples of the fraud cases that had been discovered:

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• One person admitted to paying $100 for a fake death certificate to falsely claim a marriage had been terminated.

• Another man who previously had engaged in marriage fraud had overstayed his visa and was the son of a known or suspected terrorist.

• A woman admitted to authorities that she had committed marriage fraud.

• In a fourth case, a man had engaged in marriage fraud with an elderly U.S. woman, abusing and exploiting her.

“Hundreds of bad actors will be held accountable,” said Edlow. “Immigration fraud undermines the integrity of our lawful immigration system, harms those who follow the law and poses risks to national security and public safety.”