GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Green Bay School Teacher was formally charged Thursday with the sexual abuse of a student.
David Villareal, 46, was booked on Wednesday, according to the jail’s online inmate database. Villareal is a 2nd Grand Bilingual Teacher at Baird Elementary.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child under the age of 13 and one count of repeated sexual assault of the same child.
According to a criminal complaint, three former students allege Villareal inappropriately touched them during class between 2015 and 2017. Each student told investigators Villareal would touch them inappropriately at his desk, and items were stacked on his desk, likely preventing other students from seeing anything.
One of the victims alleged Villareal inappropriately touched her “every day” while he was her second grade teacher.
Earlier this month, the mother of another victim told investigators her daughter first told her about the inappropriate touching after it happened in 2016. The mother said she set up a meeting with the principal of Baird Elementary and filed a report with the district, but no action was taken against Villareal. The mother ended up pulling her daughter out of the school, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, the mother of the victim told investigators “the school said this was not like the teacher to do this, because he is a Christian.”
Last week, a Green Bay Police officer met with Baird Elementary School Principal Michael Sheean about the incident, according to the complaint. The complaint states Sheean said “at the time the parent of the victim just wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again and that she wanted to pull her daughter out of the school.”
The officer asked Sheean if the teacher admitted to touching the victim and Sheean said the teacher told him, “I don’t know if I did that or not.”
The complaint also shows Sheean told the officer Villareal once showed up “intoxicated to training at district headquarters, but that didn’t involve students.” Sheean also described Villareal “as someone who wanted to be the cool teacher and be friends with the kids” and confirmed Villareal “is single and lives with his mom in Sheboygan.”
Police obtained school documents regarding the 2016 complaint, which showed “unwelcome physical contact” was marked, according to the criminal complaint. The document states the victim “was reluctant to say what happened” in a meeting where her mother and Villareal were present. The report later states the victim “did whisper to our translator that the teacher touched her after helping her with math and the teacher was sitting at his desk and she was in front of him.” The report also states the teacher “did apologize for any confusion and said I don’t know if I did that or not and if I did it wasn’t with any intention and mom could call him with any questions or concerns.”
According to the complaint, Villareal denied ever touching any of his students.
When asked about the allegation that was raised in 2016, Villareal told police “he thought this was an accident where he was opening a file cabinet, and he may have brushed against the student’s bottom.” He said he was never disciplined.
The complaint also shows the victims told investigators Villareal would offer the students money to find him a girlfriend, often suggesting they set him up with one of their family members. One victim said Villareal told her “I hope your dad divorces your mom so I can go with your mom.”
The victims also claimed Villareal would have a few female students eat lunch in the classroom with the lights off, according to the criminal complaint. One victim stated Villareal “would share his lunch with them and give them lots of prizes. He would ask all kids about staying for lunch and boys would raise their hands but he wouldn’t pick on them most of the time.”
A victim also told investigators one girl once went to a closet in the classroom that had a curtain. The victim said Villareal “told the girl to go inside and he hugged her with the curtain around her.”
Online court records show the offense dates for the first-degree sexual assault of a child charges are September 1, 2015 and November 17, 2016. The offense date listed for the repeated sexual assault of the same child is May 30, 2016.
The district has said Villareal has been employed with the district since 2014.
In a letter to Baird families, district administration says it has been made aware the Green Bay Police Department arrested Villareal for allegations of inappropriate contact between himself and students at the school. The letter says he has been placed on administrative leave.
“Student safety is the District’s highest priority,” read part of the letter sent to Baird Elementary School families. “As this is an ongoing investigation, the District is unable to provide any additional information. We respectfully request that anyone who has information contact the Green Bay Police Department.”
Neither Green Bay Area Public School District officials nor officials with the Green Bay Police Department agreed to interview requests made by WTAQ on Thursday.
WTAQ’s Rob Sussman contributed to this report.
