A middle school art teacher is in jail Tuesday following accusations regarding the sexual assault of a student in Mosinee, Wisconsin.
Fifty-year-old Christy Mathis was held without bond pending an initial appearance on Tuesday in the Marathon County Circuit Court, the Wausau Pilot & Review reported.
“Preliminary charges listed on a jail intake list are sexual assault of a student by school staff and first-degree sexual assault of a child,” the outlet said.
As of Tuesday morning, Mathis was still listed on the Mosinee School District’s website as an art teacher.
In a statement, Mosinee School Superintendent David Muñoz confirmed a middle school teacher had been accused of inappropriate contact with a student, the Review article continued:
The teacher was removed prior to spring break from the school and put on an administrative leave of absence while the initial investigation process was conducted by administration. Police were immediately notified and conducted their own investigation, Muñoz said, resulting in the arrest and official charges.
Although Muñoz did not name Mathis specifically in the statement, he noted, “the teacher in question will remain on administrative leave without access to school district property until such a time that this situation is resolved.”
The alleged victim’s age has not yet been reported.
“Mathis will appear at 2 p.m. for either a probable cause hearing or an initial appearance. She was arrested by the Mosinee Police Department on Monday,” WSAW reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, child sexual abuse is considered “a significant but preventable public health problem” and many children wait to report or never report it.
“About 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys experience child sexual abuse at some point in childhood,” the agency said, adding 91 percent of such abuse is perpetrated by a person the child or their family knows.
The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) urged parents to be involved in their child’s life to help protect them from sexual assault and reduce the risk.
“Being actively involved in a child’s life can make warning signs of child sexual abuse more obvious and help the child feel more comfortable coming to you if something isn’t right. If you see or hear something that causes concern, you can take action to protect your child,” the network’s website reads.
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