Female teacher Anne Nelson-Koch, 75, is sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting Wisconsin boy, 14: Faced up to 600 years for repeated assaults in basement of Baptist private school

A 75-year-old female teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student in the basement of a religious private school in Wisconsin.

Anne Nelson-Koch worked at Tomah Baptist Academy in Tomah, Wisconsin during the 2016-2017 school year. During that time, she lured the teen to the school’s basement and forced him to perform gruesome sex acts.

During the trial, she was found guilty of more than a dozen charges, including sexual assault of a child, child enticement – sexual contact and exposing genitals/pubic areas/intimate parts to a child.

She initially faced a maximum sentence of 600 years in prison.

OOn Friday, Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Richard Radcliffe imposed a 10-year prison sentence, followed by 15 years of supervised release. She was taken into custody after her conviction to begin serving her ten-year sentence.

She was also convicted of 25 counts of repeated sexual abuse. The sentences against her will walking simultaneously, Fox news reported.

Following her release from prison, she will be supervised by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) for fifteen years.

Judge Radcliffe said the sexual assault of a child was “one of the most serious crimes in the criminal justice system”.

He stated that Nelson-Koch “used her position of power over the victim to meet her own needs, realizing that she (Nelson-Koch) was an authority figure trusted by the victim.”

The judge thanked the victim for his courage and praised him for being “a leader of his family and community.”

Radcliffe said Nelson-Koch’s impact on the victim and his family was an aggravating sentencing factor, while Nelson-Koch’s character was mitigating. He noted that Nelson-Koch is “kind,” “selfless,” “giving” and “hardworking,” according to a press release posted on the Tomah Police Department Facebook page.

The judge noted that a person with Nelson-Koch’s educational and employment history “is not someone who would normally be seen in the criminal justice system receiving 600 years in prison.”

Tomah Baptist Church Pastor Aaron Smith, who told DailyMail.com he was not at the church during the incident, confirmed she was not a teacher at the religious school but an assistant.

He also revealed that Nelson-Koch had only been working at the school for less than a year.

“We do not support and strongly oppose the abuse of children and individuals,” Smith said.

He added that “we support the victim’s family and the victim.”

Nelson-Koch was 67 at the time of the predatory behavior and the boy was 14.

In April 2022, Nelson-Koch was accused of coercing the 14-year-old student to repeatedly engage in both oral and anal intercourse during school hours during the 2016-2017 academic year,” prosecutors said in the news release.

In July 2023, after five days of trial testimony, a Monroe County jury quickly returned guilty verdicts on all 25 child sex crimes against Nelson-Koch.

She subsequently faced a total maximum sentence of 624 years, consisting of a maximum of 373 years of incarceration in prison and 251 years of supervised release.

Following her felony convictions, Nelson-Koch was released into the community pending sentencing, despite the prosecutor’s objection.

The DOC recommended that Nelson-Koch be sentenced to 24 to 32 years in prison, followed by 20 to 24 years of extended supervision.

Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Sarah Skiles, who handled the prosecution of the case, argued that Nelson-Koch should be incarcerated for 100 years and then supervised for an additional 60 years.

Skiles said the harm caused by Nelson-Koch’s abhorrent actions could not be undone, but could be compensated through just punishment. She attacked Nelson-Koch’s lack of remorse or remorse, calling her virtuous masquerade “a calculated attempt to conceal her predatory tendencies.”

The ADA argued that a lengthy prison sentence was necessary to ensure that the severity of the sexual assault of a child at school and the pain the victim endured were not disregarded.

She further stated that there must be meaningful accountability for perpetrators when a victim musters the courage to report an abuser and undergoes the excruciating experience of testifying at trial.

She also said it was imperative that the public was protected from Nelson-Koch.

The victim’s father made an impact statement at the sentencing.

He said: ‘His son came forward publicly to ensure Nelson-Koch could not attack other children.’

The victim’s father then asked for justice and a sentence that would see Nelson-Koch locked up for the rest of her life.

After the judge handed down the sentence, Skiles praised the investigative efforts of the Tomah Police Department.

“We are grateful for the tireless efforts of researcher Paul Sloan, who is committed to the challenging work of protecting our community’s children from sexual violence and abuse,” she said.

She added that “a sexual predator has been held accountable for her heinous actions and will not pose a threat to our community for the next decade.”

“There is no higher priority for this agency and our law enforcement partners than protecting children. “We will spare no resources to ensure that the full weight of the justice system is brought to bear on those who victimize our children,” she said.

Skiles also praised the victim: “I applaud him for his courage. Without his courage, Nelson-Koch would still be part of the community.”