A 44-year-old woman is accused of having sex with a student, while she was a teacher’s aide at Appleton West high school. Court records say Laura Bates believed the two were in love, and that the 17-year-old boy was “her soul mate.”
Prosecutors are charging Bates with four counts of sexual assault of a student. District Attorney Nicholas Bolz says Bates resigned from her job. He says thankfully, they don’t see many cases like this. He says a family member came forward, and that shows that people know that type of relationship is inappropriate.
Records say Bates was a paraprofessional, and she worked in the boy’s classroom for the last three years. The boy is classified as a special ed student. Prosecutors say their relationship turned sexual, at the beginning of last month, while the two were at her home in the town of Chilton. Bates was in court Tuesday afternoon, and a judge set a $20,000 signature bond.
WHBY