Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
TIMOTHY J. SCHMIDT
A Gresham teacher who resigned last month amid a police investigation was charged Tuesday with 24 felony counts, including possession of child pornography and sexual assault of a student.
Timothy J. Schmidt, 69, was ordered held on a $100,000 cash bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Monday.
According to a statement issued last week by the the Gresham School District, school officials learned on March 21 that the music teacher was the subject of a police investigation.
According to the criminal complaint, Stockbridge-Munsee police on March 22 met with a parent of a Gresham Community School student reporting suspicious activity between Schmidt and her 16-year-old daughter.
Police were informed in the afternoon of March 23 that Schmidt had resigned, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges the activity stretches back to October.
The investigation revealed emails between the two that included discussion of sexual contact, according to the criminal complaint, as well as alleged exchanges of nude photos.
The girl also told police about alleged sexual encounters with Schmidt and gifts he had allegedly given her, some of which were sexual in nature and which she found “embarrassing,” according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, a school counselor was told in December about a bracelet Schmidt allegedly had given to the girl and a note written to her.
The complaint doesn’t say whether any action was taken by the school district at that time, and the district has not responded to requests for further information.
The complaint states that Schmidt was warned by Principal Newell Haffner on March 14 that a ride home he had personally given the girl was inappropriate. Schmidt was also told by Haffner on March 16 that it was inappropriate for the girl to be having lunch in his office with the door closed and locked, according to the complaint.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department performed forensic examinations of computer devices belonging to Schmidt to determine whether sexual photos had been exchanged, according to the complaint.
The examination also turned up images of suspected child pornography, according to the criminal complaint, and a new search warrant was requested.
According to the complaint, more than 1,000 images of child pornography were located.
Schmidt was charged Tuesday with felony counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff, child enticement, causing a child to view or listen to sexual activity, exposing a child to harmful materials, sexual exploitation of a child, and 19 counts of possession of child pornography.
Schmidt could face a maximum 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine on the sexual exploitation charge if convicted, and 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine on each of the child pornography counts.
Shawano-Menominee County District Attorney Greg Parker told the court on Tuesday that more charges are expected.
“There will be many more counts forthcoming,” he said. “Not only is there a real victim in this case, that is a 16-year-old girl, but there are many, many other victims as we typically see in child pornography cases.”
The court also heard comments from attorney Jack Bartholomew, who is representing Schmidt’s wife in divorce proceedings that were also filed Tuesday, requesting that any bond posted should not involve marital property.