Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Tim Ryan Timothy J. Schmidt appears with his attorney Paul Seifert for a preliminary hearing in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court on Monday.
A former Gresham choir teacher charged with 24 felony counts, including sexual assault of a student and possession of child pornography, was bound over for trial Monday after a preliminary hearing in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court.
Timothy J. Schmidt, 69, resigned from the Gresham School District last month amid a police investigation, according to the criminal complaint. He is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
District Attorney Greg Parker told the court that “many more” charges would be filed against Schmidt as the investigation continues and authorities continue with a forensic analysis of electronic devices owned by Schmidt.
Schmidt is scheduled to be arraigned on May 8.
It wasn’t clear who will hear that arraignment, because Schmidt’s attorney, Paul Seifert, requested a new judge for the case.
The defense is allowed to request a judicial substitution without any explicit reason.
Seifert also tried unsuccessfully to have Monday’s hearing closed to the public and the media, citing embarrassment to the alleged victim and the right of his client to a fair trial.
Judge William Kussel Jr. noted that the victim would be identified in court proceedings only by her initials and that numerous other cases have been tried in spite of media attention and by vetting of the jury pool.
Schmidt had a one-year contract with the school district that was due to expire at the end of this school year, according to testimony from Stockbridge-Munsee Police Chief Jim Hoffman.
School officials have not responded to requests for more information.
According to a statement issued by the the Gresham School District last week, 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 states Principal Newell Haffner warned Schmidt on March 14 that a ride home he had 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 turned up more than 1,000 images of suspected child pornography, according to the criminal complaint, and a new search warrant was requested.
Schmidt is charged 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.