Wisconsin teacher who had sex with 16-year-old boy gets 6 months, judge calls her 'nightmare of every parent'
GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN: A 32-year-old has been awarded six-months in jail for having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old. Courtney Roznowski admitted to having sex with the teenager in the summer of 2019. Though the encounter was “consensual", Roznowski could not contest since in Wisconsin the legal age of consent is 18. Roznowski reportedly wanted to be the mentor of the teen and said that she loved him “in the way (that) I didn’t want to see anything happen to him.” The teacher was taken into custody in August after Child Protective Services in Wisconsin received a tip-off. Initially, she denied having sex with the boy, but when police asked her to hand over her phone to them, she confessed to them to having a sexual relationship with the minor. She also told investigators that when the relationship began she had drinking problems, The Mirror reported.
The student also initially denied the sexual encounter, but later said it was "every kid’s dream to do a teacher.” He also stated that the teacher said to him he was “special and deserved special things.” This week after Roznowski pleaded no contest to one count of exposing intimate parts to a child, she was given six months behind the bars. The other initial charges - sexual assault of a student by a staff member - against her were dismissed after it was found the two met while Roznowski was an employee of Southwest High School and not the the Green Bay School District.
In addition to the sentencing, she has also been put on probation for three years and was asked to write an apology letter to Southwest High School staff and one to every superintendent in the county. In future, Roznowski would not be able to work with the students below the age of 18 and is requisite to maintain her sobriety. The woman told the court: “I accept responsibility for what I did, and I know what I did was wrong. While I did not initiate the relationship, I should have put an end to it once I realized that the messages being sent to me were from a student at the school. Please have it in your heart to see the good in me. Have me keep working, have me keep seeing my counsellor, have me be around my family daily. Overall, I hope my actions for the last 13 months have shown you how serious I have and will continue to take this.”
While Judge Donald Zuidmulder told her: “I have to share with you how appalling it is. Because opportunity is created because the people of this state require mandatory public education; they require their kids to go to school. You are, frankly, the nightmare of every parent. Because what a parent assumes is that their child is in a safe environment with trusting people. But I have to tell you I am unimpressed by your comments about ‘a good heart.’ You drove over there. It doesn’t have anything to with the heart.”
The judge also asked Roznowski to look at her mother and father who were present in the court. “You’ve broken their hearts. And whatever punishment I impose on you, I assume that the humiliation and embarrassment you’ve caused your mother and father is more punishment that you will carry than what I could impose on you,” Zuidmulder added.