A former history teacher who lived in Stillwater pleaded guilty Monday to having sex with two girls he taught in a Grantsburg, Wis., high school.
Matthew Robert Koenen, 37, admitted in Washington County District Court that he cultivated "inappropriate and romantic" relationships with the girls, both of whom were 16 at the time.
Defense attorney Tina Appleby said Koenen was experiencing "emotional problems" and was on medication for depression in the months before he lured the girls individually to his house in Stillwater in August 2012.
Koenen persuaded the girls to come to his house after "countless conversations" on cellphones and e-mail accounts he hid from his wife, the criminal charges said.
He had sex with the first girl in his bedroom after he put his child down for a nap, the charges said. He became involved with the second girl when he confronted her about slipping grades, the charges said, and allegedly had sex with her in his bedroom three weeks after having sex with the first girl.
His guilty plea to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct means that neither girl will have to testify in a trial, which left one mother relieved.
"He knew what he was doing," the mother said after Monday's hearing in Stillwater. "He was grooming my daughter since seventh grade. Looking back, I can see the signs," she said, tearful. "The sad thing about sexual abuse is that nobody talks about it."
One of the girls attended the hearing and said afterward no guilty plea or sentencing can resolve her emotional pain. She said Koenen took advantage of her struggles in life and showed a progressive amount of interest in her at the high school despite being an authority figure.
"I don't really think it's the job of students to look out for themselves," she said.
Koenen was asked to resign after he admitted to school officials that he had exchanged text messages of a personal nature with one of the girls, the charges said.
Koenen pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Judge John McBride set sentencing for Dec. 10. Before then, Koenen will undergo a psychosexual examination that McBride ordered.
Kevin Giles • 651-925-5037
