Jessica Koelbel was charged with sexually assaulting a student by a school employee. Her court records confirm that Koelbel was a special education teacher at the Richardson School on Madison's north side until her resignation shortly after the investigation began. The Richardson School is listed as a therapeutic day school “specializing in supporting children, adolescents and young adults with diagnosed developmental and neurological disorders, behavioral and emotional concerns.”
MADISON (WKOW) — A Madison special education teacher has resigned after being accused of sexually assaulting a student.
Jessica Koelbel was charged with sexually assaulting a student by a school employee.
Court records confirm that Koelbel was a special education teacher at the Richardson School on Madison's north side until he resigned shortly after the investigation began.
The Richardson School is listed as a therapeutic day school “specializing in supporting children, adolescents and young adults with diagnosed developmental and neurological disorders, behavioral and emotional concerns.”
According to the criminal complaint, Koelbel is accused of having oral sex with the student.
According to the criminal complaint, a witness told Madison police in December 2023 that he was informed of a sexual relationship between a student and staff member at the Richardson School.
That staff member was identified as Jessica Koelbel, according to the complaint.
Witnesses told police they heard the relationship had been going on for about a year and a half.
Another witness told police he heard Koelbel and the victim talking on the phone.
The complaint states: ”[The witness] Koerbel reportedly told the child victim that she did not want to tell police that the two had sex. ”
According to court records, the victim had just turned 18 when investigators began investigating the charges.
Madison police report that both the victim and Koelbel deny the charges.
According to the criminal complaint, “Detective Vann asked the child victim if she had ever had any relationship, sex, or sexual contact with Koelbel or any other teacher in the past. The child victim denied any such activity. He said he had not conducted any activities with Koerbel or anyone else. ”
The next day, Madison police interviewed Koelbel, who denied having any sexual relationship with the victim.
According to court records, “Detective Vann reconstructed and asked Kelbel,” which means you never had sex with Kelbel. [Child Victim]Mr. Koerbel answered “No,” and stated that Mr. Koerbel had never had any sexual relations with the child victim, and that he had never had any relationship with the child victim outside of school.
About a month after the first interview, Madison police reported a second meeting with Koelbel.
During that interview, Koelbel reportedly admitted to performing oral sex on the victim.
She claims it happened in October when she had surgery and the victim was picking her up from the hospital.
“At this point, Koerbel stated, “I had sex at my sister's house.'' Mr. Koerbel stated that he performed oral sex on the child victim,” the complaint states.
According to court records, Koerbel told investigators that the victim consented and participated in a sex act that lasted several minutes.
Koerbel said he had no other sexual activity with the victim.
“Before questioning Koelbel about sexual contact, Detective Vann asked Koelbel if he had coached the child victim. Koelbel did not tell the child victim what to tell police,” the complaint states. He stated that he believed that the reason the child victim denied the incident was because the child victim denied the incident.'' She wanted to protect her. ”
Court records show detectives spoke with school administrators when they began the investigation.
Detectives reportedly asked about previous investigations into Koerbel and the victim.
According to court records, “RE stated on April 15, 2022, that the Richardson School and administration had addressed the inappropriate conduct between Koelbel and the child victim.”
Administrators told investigators it stemmed from concerns from the victim's mother.
“The victim's mother called because she was concerned about the contact on Snapchat, stating that her son was “obsessed with his teacher,'' and that her son had personal information about Koelbel about Koelbel's family and children. expressed that.”
27 News contacted the school and asked what it had done to address this behavior. The school released the following statement:
Contact with students by staff outside of their professional role is prohibited by our Code of Conduct. In April 2022, a social media contact issue was reported to us and investigated. While the social media contact violated our Code of Conduct, its content did not warrant further investigation and was addressed in accordance with normal company policies and procedures.
27 News also requested comment on Koelbel's employment status at the school and the allegations. The school issued the following statement:
The Richardson School was established to help students who have difficulty in traditional learning environments develop skills for academic and behavioral growth and transition back into the homeschool environment.
We take student safety very seriously. We have a rigorous screening process for all employees, including pre-employment background checks and background checks. We follow all applicable regulations regarding reporting and prevention and continually review and improve our processes to ensure the environment is safe and productive for our students.
Richardson School immediately began an internal investigation after being notified by authorities of the alleged misconduct between staff and students. The employee resigned during the investigation.
The Madison Police Department then notified TRS that it had referred the matter to the District Attorney's Office for appropriate action.
If you have additional questions, please contact the Madison Police Department or District Attorney's Office.
Mr. Koelbel is scheduled to make his first court appearance on March 7, 2024.
This is a developing story.
