Police arrest teacher accused of sexually assaulting 14-year-old Beloit student more than 20 times

BELOIT, Wis. — The Beloit Police Department has arrested a teacher for repeatedly sexually assaulting a male student during the time he worked as a substitute teacher, according to officials.

Tyler J. Edge, 24, of Chippewa Falls, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of repeated sexual assault of a then-14-year-old student while he was a substitute teacher at Beloit Memorial High School in the spring, according to a release from the Beloit Police Department.

According to the criminal complaint, the student said the first time Edge sexually assaulted him was in the car on the way home from a gay-straight alliance party at Riverside Park in Beloit. Edge was giving the student a ride home. The student described an interaction in the car with Edge that day which ended with the student performing oral sex on the teacher.

The student cited more than 20 incidents that occurred after the initial sexual assault in the car, according to investigators. These incidents allegedly all took place inside Edge’s classroom and office at Beloit Memorial High School after they interacted in the school daily.

Officials obtained an email conversation between Edge and the student, in which the student asks Edge to admit to molesting him and Edge admits that the relationship and molestation was wrong.

Edge was employed by the School District of Beloit as a long-term building substitute from Aug. 2016 through July 2017, according to the release. Edge was hired as a social studies teacher at Chippewa Falls High School in July 2017 and has been placed on unpaid leave effective Wednesday, officials said.

Officials with the Chippewas Falls Area Unified School District said that Edge taught classes Tuesday morning before he was arrested.

Chippewa Falls Executive Director of public relations Michelle Golden said that there is no indication of any incidents of sexual assault from Edge while he was a teacher there.

“There is no indication of misconduct in Chippewa Falls,” Golden said in a release. “The alleged actions of Mr. Edge put all of the educational community in a dark light, there is no place for this type of behavior in any school.”

The school district will be recommending Edges’s termination at the March board meeting, and a long-term substitute teacher will be put in place for the remainder of the school year.

Beloit Police Department officials said that both school districts are cooperating with the investigation.

In a statement, Beloit School District interim Superintendent Darrell Williams said the assault was not reported and that the district will be in full cooperation with law enforcement officials.

“The School District of Beloit and the administration at Beloit Memorial High School were not aware of this matter as it was not reported,” Williams said. “It is important for students and families to know that the school district does not tolerate sexual harassment or any other sexually inappropriate behavior by its employees.”

The Beloit and Chippewa Falls police departments filed search warrants on Tuesday for Edge’s. Felony charges were filed against him in Rock County Circuit Court on Monday.

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