Rufus King teacher sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexual misconduct against students
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) teacher on Tuesday, July 15 pleaded guilty and sentenced after she was charged with felony sexual misconduct against four teenage students at Rufus King High School.
Investigators say the teacher had inappropriate contact with several students on the basketball team.
The students impacted by the actions of Erica Allemang-Reinke wiped away tears and held their parents closed inside the Milwaukee County Courthouse Tuesday. Some of the students and parents spoke, sharing how they trusted the teacher while she was charged for sexual misconduct.
Allemang-Reinke, a theater teacher at Rufus King, was arrested in April. The victims include four teen boys: three were 17 years old when the inappropriate behavior started, one was 16.
A criminal complaint in the case said Allemang-Reinke asked for their cellphone numbers, then texted them inappropriately, told them she had dreams about them, gave them hundreds of dollars in cash, and touched several inappropriately.
She pleaded guilty to the four counts against her.
According to attorneys involved in the case, Allemang-Reinke was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison, followed by two years of extended supervision, and other consequences to keep her away from the students and parents who say they are still recovering from the situation.
"We’re still in the process of figuring out where to start the healing process and to build them up and to get them to their senior year because this was pretty devastating and traumatic for young men to go through this," said Raylena Windmon, a victim's parent.
In court, Allemang-Reinke apologized for her actions and said she crossed a boundary she did not intend to.
"I crossed material and emotional boundaries by giving when I shouldn't have and oversharing when I should have never had students' phone numbers," Allemang-Reinke said.
Alleman-Reinke will have to report to prison on Thursday, July 17.
MPS released the following statement regarding the teacher's sentencing:
"MPS hopes that today’s sentencing provides some sense of justice for the young people impacted by this egregious behavior. This person violated the trust and safety of our students and our community, and that will never be tolerated. Our thoughts and concerns remain with the students and their families as they move forward from here."