Madison Bergmann: Wisconsin teacher breaks down in court after admitting to sexually abusing 11-year-old boyAmy LeeThe NightlyThu, 2 October 2025 6:12AM
A fifth-grade teacher is facing more than a decade behind bars after admitting to sexually abusing an 11-year-old male student.
Madison Bergmann was 24 when she was arrested in May 2024 following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a boy in her class at River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin.
The relationship came to light on April 29, 2024, when the boy’s parents discovered concerning text messages on his phone.
The boy’s mother had overheard a conversation between her son and Bergmann, prompting his father to check the device and uncover the messages.
According to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail, the messages included statements from Bergmann saying she liked it when the boy touched her and that she enjoyed “making out” with him.
Investigators also reportedly found hundreds of disturbing handwritten notes in Bergmann’s classroom and backpack, stored in a folder labelled with the victim’s name.
Summarising the written conversations between the two, police said: “In her notes, she tells him she loves him, wants to kiss him, he turns her on and that she is obsessed with him.”
One letter, cited by CBS, read: “One of my cousins is in the 5th grade and I can’t imagine a man talking to her how we talk. I know we have a special relationship and I do love you more than anyone in the world but I have to be the adult here and stop.”
Bergmann resigned from teaching at the school on May 13, 2024.
On Monday (local time), Bergmann broke down in court as she pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual misconduct and one count of child enticement.
Additional charges, including first-degree child sexual assault, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and exposing a child to harmful material, were dropped as part of a plea deal.
In a startling twist, the former teacher had been engaged to her fiancé, Sam Hickman, and was planning to marry him in July 2024, just two months after her arrest.
Mr Hickman was reportedly blindsided by the allegations, and the wedding was subsequently called off.
Bergmann will be next appear in court on December 22 for her sentencing hearing.
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