5 'Bad' Teachers Accused of Shocking Sex Crimes

A teacher who allegedly had a child with. a 13-year-old student. [music]. Another teacher accused of sending more. than 30,000 messages to an 11-year-old. A prison tutor prosecutors say tried to. hire a hitman. These cases aren't. anomalies. They represent some of the. most serious [music] alleged breaches of. trust that we've seen in classrooms this. year. We are examining the court. records, the body cam, [music] the. criminal filings behind some of the most. disturbing teacher cases of [music]. 2025. Welcome to Sidebar presented by.

Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Now, here's the truth about something. before we get into all this. Honestly, I. don't even think we'd be able to put. these episodes together if it wasn't for. the incredible support that we get from. our sponsors like [snorts] Morgan and. Morgan. Okay, this is America's largest. personal injury law firm. I want to talk. about them because this is a firm with. over a,000 attorneys who have recovered. $25 billion for more than 500,000. clients. Look, in the past few months,

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So, over the last year, we have seen. case after case after case that makes. you question who are you leaving your. kids with for eight hours a day? Teachers, they're supposed to be. protectors, right? Mentors, safe adults. But in these stories that we're about to. go over, they became the exact opposite. We are not talking about some sort of. lapse in judgment or a single bad. decision. We are talking about what. prosecutors have alleged in all of these. cases, calculated long-term patterns of.

abuse, manipulation, and predatory. behavior. From a secret baby to hidden. Snapchat messages to a murder for hire. plot that was apparently hatched behind. bars, the details are honestly hard to. believe. But the court documents, this. is what they allege. And we are going to. take you inside the evidence that left. investigators, the public, and I will. tell you me myself, as I covered on this. show, stunned. So, first up, this is a.

case that sounds like a twisted soap. opera, but unfortunately, it is. tragically real. It starts in a quiet. New Jersey town with a fifth grade. teacher and a family who trusted her. with everything. We're going to Middle. Township, New Jersey. Laura Karen was a. fifth grade teacher at a public. elementary school there. Teacher there. for over 10 years. By all accounts, she. was trusted. And the story broke in. maybe the most modern way possible. through a viral social media post. According to the criminal complaint in.

this case, it began like this. Quote, "On December 12th, 2024, the middle. township school superintendent, Dr. Salvo, reported to officer Renan of the. MTPD he received an anonymous tip a. teacher may have had a sexual. relationship with a student. The teacher. was identified as Laura Karen. This came. from a Facebook post made by the. student's father on December 12th, 2024, which indicated Karen's 5-year-old. child, SC looks very similar to him and.

his son, JM Jr. Yeah. So, the father was. essentially accusing Karen of being the. mother of his son's child. And that post. seemingly triggered or sparked or. furthered the investigation. Police. interviewed the father who detailed an. almost unbelievable living situation. that Karen was the victim's teacher, that the family befriended her. They. allowed their children, including the. victim, to stay at her place. The.

complaint states, JM Senior explained. that it began with one or two nights a. week and eventually the children stayed. with Karen permanently from 2016 to. 2020. Now, picture the scene, okay, that. was described by the boy's sister to. police. It's detailed in the same. document. Quote am explained the. children would sleep in a shared room on. the second floor, but notice the victim. would not be in his bed the next morning. and would be sleeping in bed with Karen. AM stated victim would shower in the.

first floor bathroom while the other. children would shower in the second. floor bathroom. AM also noticed when the. victim would shower, Karen would enter. the bathroom and lock the door. Now, police claim that this sexual abuse. started in 2016 when the boy was just 11. years old. It allegedly continued for. years. The victim apparently told. investigators that he believed Karen. would have sex with him twice a week. But this story has a twist that. separates it from almost any other. And. that's that in 2019, Laura Karen had a.

baby boy. And at the time, her alleged. victim was 13 years old. So for years, this was apparently a hidden secret. But. it turns out it was the sister who. apparently provided police with a. digital key to the case. The complaint. notes am also provided a screenshot of a. text conversation she had with victim. where he admits he is the father of SC. and requests her not to tell anyone. because he does not want Karen to get in. trouble. The victim's mother also told.

police that her son admitted he was the. dad. But here's where it gets even more. complicated. the alleged victim, so now. what 20 years old, spoke to the Daily. Mail and he claimed he was the one who. started everything, that he wasn't. groomed and said if it was up to me, she. wouldn't have been in jail. Now, despite. that, the evidence led prosecutors to. charge Laura Karen with aggravated. sexual assault, sexual assault. endangering the welfare of a child. She. pleaded not guilty. Her attorney. previously back in January of 2025.

indicated that there was no DNA evidence. proving his client's child is the son of. her former student. But the. prosecution's case is seemingly built on. a mountain of evidence from the. complaint. The father's Facebook post, the permanent living arrangements, the. sister's eyewitness account, the text. screenshot, the mother's statement, the. stunning biological timing of a child. born when her accuser was 13. But Laura. Karen, she's innocent until proven. guilty. She was able to post bail. currently awaiting her next court date.

But you have this, you know, apparent. secret baby, a victim or alleged victim. living in his purported abuser's home. The case feels like it exists in its own. kind of dark universe. But you know what. the thing is? The theme of a teacher. allegedly exploiting insane levels of. trust to get to a child. That tragically. is not unique. That takes us to our next. case. We go to the Midwest to a small. elementary school in Wisconsin. And the. evidence here wasn't a hidden pregnancy. It was hidden in plain sight in the palm.

of her hand. Over 30,000. messages. We're going to set the scene. Riverest Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin. Madison Bergman was a. 24year-old teacher here in the 2023 2024. school year. She was engaged to be. married, by the way, and her student was. an 11-year-old boy in her class. The. story erupts on May 1st, 2024. That is. when the boy's parents arrive at the. school with printed screenshots from.

their son's phone and the texts are. between him and Madison. The principal. immediately pulls Bergman from class and. by the end of that day, Bergman is in a. police interview room and she admits. that she gave the boy her number during. a snowboarding trip with his family over. winter break. She claims he called her. four or five times for quote no reason. And when the detective asks about the. text messages, this is when she. apparently lawyers up. So the school, they search her belongings and in her.

backpack, they find a folder with the. boy's name on it and it is filled with. handwritten notes and drawings. So then. the boy is interviewed and he describes. the first kiss in the classroom after. school with Bergman. Says it happened. many times after that. He talks about. the daily notes. Based on this, Bergman. is arrested the same day, May 1st, 2024. She's initially charged with. first-degree child sexual assault, sexual contact with a child under 13. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

because as police forensically examined. the phones, the scale of the. communication became quite clear. Prosecutors filed an amended complaint. with additional charges. We're talking. 10 charges. We're talking crimes like. firstdegree child sexual assault, use of. a computer to facilitate a child sex. crime, child enticement with a mandatory. lifetime supervision modifier, counts of. sexual misconduct by school staff for. specific dates of misconduct. And the. core of the case was in the data. Police.

said that their investigation revealed. over 30,000 messages exchanged between. the teacher and her 11-year-old student. The initial shock of the case, that was. just the beginning. Because when. prosecutors filed the amended criminal. complaint that expanded the case from. just a single horrific act to a pattern. of calculated systemic abuse. This. document that was built on a mountain of. digital evidence and the victim's. testimony. It detailed a secret digital. world that the teacher created with her.

student. So I want to walk you through. what this document reveals. Okay. First. consider just the staggering volume of. private communication. Okay. A forensic. examination revealed more than 35,000. text messages exchanged between the. 24-year-old teacher and her 11-year-old. student. That number, 35,000, it. represents a constant, allconsuming, secret life that existed alongside the. school day. The content was explicitly. romantic and sexual. In one exchange. highlighted by investigators, the boy. texted, "Haha, bro. I just want to make.

out with you." Bergman replied, "I do. too, like all the time." She continued, "Also, today when you said, 'I know. you're mad, but I want to kiss you. Oh. my gosh, I wanted to grab your face and. just push you to the floor and make out. with you." And when we talk about a. massive digital footprint, it makes. sense why she's charged with use of a. computer to facilitate a child's sex. crime. It's a felony that carries a. mandatory minimum prison term. But you. also have this search of Bergman's. computer revealed nearly three dozen.

emails between them. The complaint then. tied specific acts of misconduct to. precise dates leading to these five new. counts of sexual misconduct by school. staff. And the victim described how. Bergman engineered opportunities for. contact. That during quote independent. reading time, she would rub his thigh. and leg. He believed other students. couldn't see because Bergman had moved. his desk directly next to hers. So. arguably a premeditated act that. provided camouflage. And the complaint.

detailed that first kiss. quote, "When. the other kids left the classroom, she. approached him and kissed him on the. mouth. He described himself as sitting. on the ground immediately after the kiss. as he couldn't believe that it happened. and the fact it was his first kiss." So, beyond [snorts] the digital realm, police recovered all of these. handwritten notes and love letters and. drawings exchanged between Bergman and. the boy, all kept in a folder in her. classroom. And maybe the most. psychologically revealing piece of. evidence was this note that Bergman.

herself wrote because even as she. engaged in the abuse, a part of her. acknowledged that this was wrong. She. wrote, "One of my cousins is in the. fifth grade, and I can't imagine a man. talking to her how we talk. I know we. have a special relationship, and I do. love you more than anyone in the world, but I have to be the adult here." And. stop. By the way, she had a fiance and. she wrote those words of self-awareness. But according to the charges, she didn't. stop. Faced with this overwhelming.

evidence, the tens of thousands of. messages, the victim's clear account, her own written words, the path forward. culminated in a courtroom in September. of 2025. >> Miss Burkeman is going to enter p of. guilty to count three, child enticement. There is a lifetime supervision of. serious sex offenders. enhancer on that. at this time. She's also admitting to. that. Count six, sexual misconduct by. school staff and count eight, sexual. misconduct by school staff. Base on.

those police estate is moving to dismiss. but read in all of the other counts for. purposes of sentencing. We are jointly. recommending a PSI be done and um the. state is to cap their in custody. recommendation at 12 years at the time. of sentencing. >> And Miss Bergman, do you understand. what's proposed? >> I do. >> Would you stand up, raise your right. hand, and be sworn by the clerk? >> Do you swear that the testimony you're.

about to give in this matter will be the. truth, the whole truth, and nothing but. the truth to help you God? >> I do. >> You're going to have to speak up. >> Yes. >> Okay. Have a seat. [snorts] Thank you. bring that microphone up close so that. way I can hear you and everyone else. can. Okay. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. >> [snorts]. >> So first of all with regard to counts. three, six, and eight in the amended. information. which are child enticement with lifetime.

supervision to serious sex offenders, sexual misconduct by school or staff. [snorts] or volunteer and sexual. misconduct by school staff or volunteer. [snorts]. They are class D and class I felonies. the latter two. Um, what is your plea. today? >> Guilty. >> All right. In order for the court to. consider whether to accept your guilty. plea, I need to ask you some questions. So, first of all, did you complete this.

plea questionnaire and waiver of rights. with your lawyer? >> I did. >> And is this your signature and your. lawyer signature on the second page? >> It is. >> Now, did you have a chance to talk to. Mr. Tambberino about the plea. questionnaire? >> Yes. >> Did you get all your questions answered? >> I did. >> So, she was taken into custody, sobbing, to await a sentencing where prosecutors. would seek up to 12 years in prison. And. by the time Madison Bergman returned to. court for sentencing on December 19th,

the outcome was no longer in doubt. The. emotion in the room was unmistakable. Local reporters inside the courtroom. said that Bergman began crying as soon. as she entered. And when the judge. confirmed that she would be going to. prison, her composure broke completely. >> While we are here today and are. extremely frustrated. and concerned about these facts and this. case and the terrible impact that it's. having. I also have to be mindful that there are.

cases even more extreme. with defendants who have long records of. that kind of behavior. And in that in that light, I think that. a more appropriate sentence and the. sentence that I will hand down here. today. is I'm going to order that Miss Bergman. be incarcerated in the Wisconsin state. prison system for six years.

and that she served six years on. extended supervision thereafter. That's on count three. [laughter]. With regard to counts six and eight, [laughter]. I'm going to order one and a half years. of incarceration on each. That's the maximum sentence. and two years of extended supervision on. each.

[laughter]. And I am going to run all of this. concurrent. [laughter]. I think. essentially the outcome here is. six years in the state prison, [laughter]. six years of extended supervision. is an appropriate sentence. Given everything I've heard here today, everything I've discussed with you,

[laughter]. Miss Bergman, you're going to have to. calm down for a minute because I have to. give you some warranty. [laughter]. >> So, Bergman was sentenced to six years. in state prison followed by six years of. extended supervision once she's. released. That supervision apparently. comes with strict conditions. She's. barred from any contact with the victim. or the victim's family. She's barred. from having any contact with anyone. under the age of 18 unless she receives. prior approval from her supervising. officer. Just a wild case. So, if the.

first two cases were about exploiting. trust, right, or allegedly exploiting. trust, our next story takes a sharp turn. into a realm that feels more like a. crime thriller. This is about a teacher. who allegedly tried to use the very. system meant to rehabilitate to commit. the ultimate crime. We're going to. Kentucky where Elena Barton, 27 years. old, this teacher was working at the. Adair County Juvenile Detention Center. But according to prosecutors, she wasn't. there teaching. No. They alleged she.

started a sexual relationship with a. teenage inmate in her class. And court. documents claimed that she sent him. explicit photos and engaged in sexual. contact with him. And as explained by. the Kentucky State Police, quote, "The. Adair Juvenile Detention Center. conducted a routine search of juveniles. living units where letters and explicit. material were found in a male juvenile's. possession sent by an Adair County. school teacher assigned to the facility. The detention center immediately. confiscated the material." This is where.

it gets more sinister, but prosecutors. claim that that relationship became the. foundation for a murder for hire plot. They alleged that Barton, who was. apparently married, solicited that same. inmate to kill her husband. The case. exploded when the shocking body cam. video from her arrest came out. And. Barton, you know, remains kind of eerily. calm. She seemed casually asking the. officer to call her husband to tell him. that she's been arrested, seemingly more. concerned about her car being impounded.

than the charges that she was facing. So I know I'll talk to him. >> Yeah. So I know Mr. Bale I I know him. well. So I'll talk to him. >> So you're going to call him and tell him. that um. that I've been arrested. >> I'll let him know that you've been. arrested. >> Sure. And then obviously you need to. reach out to him through the jail. Okay. >> Okay.

>> And then just again he he knows me. I. know him. Uh, you can just tell. >> number. I have a card in my car. >> Okay. I don't want to get something out. of my.

Is this okay? She asked for her name. >> Yeah. Hold. that. >> Hey, your mom's Your mom's got.

>> Hey, your mom's good taking the car, right? Your parents are good taking the. car. >> Taking the car. >> Yeah. When we're done with it, we're. going to turn it over to you guys. We. just want to make sure you drive. Thank you. You can put those up. >> So, we're done with this. I can put it. back in my Yeah. Y Thank you. Yep.

You got anything on you in your drawing? >> I just got my attorney. here. We're just going to get this right here.

There you go.

>> Good. >> Have you got anything on you should know. about? >> Just my attorney's number in my pocket. >> That's right. You don't have anything in. your bra or nothing like that? >> Okay. I'm going to I'm going to just. patch it down the back of my hand. >> Okay. >> All right. >> Make sure you lock down.

You need me to hang out with you all. today? >> I don't think so. He transport. just uh serve the warrant and serve the. EPI. I'll bring a copy. box, please. Yep.

I'm. >> what? >> I'm try. >> Yeah. >> And the criminal complaint laid out the. formal charges in stark terms, alleging. a crime spree that lasted for months. Quote, "The Afen states that during. August 1st, 2024 through March 27th, 2025 in Adair County, Kentucky, the. above named defendant unlawfully.

committed the offense of solicitation to. commit murder and sexual abuse, firstderee, and distribution of obscene. matter to a minor when the defendant, Elena Barton, asked solicited juvenile. ML to kill her husband and further. provided ML with advice on how not to. get caught. But the most chilling. alleged evidence might be the. handwritten letters that police. uncovered, allegedly from Bon to the. inmate. Because these notes, purportedly. passed in secret, show the plot. developing in real time. In one, she.

seemingly tries to manage his. expectations while pushing the plan. forward, writing, quote, "Okay, call me. bleep if you want. Thought you were. talking about putting a hit on my. husband. I can't give you my ring. I got. to make it look like plus make him feel. like we're good, but I won't. unintelligible it around you. P.S. I'm. serious about them cracking down on. searches. Be careful. Another letter. seemingly contrasts her failing marriage. with her obsession. By the way, hinting. at a motive. Quote, "This was honestly.

the most time we spent with my husband. in a long time. It really solidified for. me why the two of us just don't work. I. just really missed you all damn day.". And in a moment of what I have to. imagine prosecutors would have said it. was shocking irony, alleged irony, she. writes, quote, "Also, you're out of your. mind for unintelligible poisoning my. husband. I get nervous when I go out. that I'm going to come home. Someone has. killed him." So at trial, the.

prosecution presented all of this. Now, here's what the jury found. There was a. caveat, okay? She was convicted of one. count each of first-degree sexual abuse, unlawful transaction with a minor, and. distribution of obscene material to a. minor, but she was acquitted of. solicitation to commit murder. She was. sentenced to a total of 14 years in. prison as a result of what she was. convicted of. Now, our final case takes. us back into an elementary school, but. the alleged pattern of behavior that.

we're about to detail is so sprawling, so brazen that it pushes the boundaries. of belief. This isn't about a single. victim or a secret relationship. This is. the story of a teachers aid who was. accused of systematically targeting. multiple young boys in her orbit. We go. to Silver Lake, Wisconsin. Anna Marie. Crocker, 33 years old, was a full-time. educational assistant at Riverview. Elementary School. Her job was to, you. know, support kids to help them feel.

safe. But according to a devastating. criminal complaint, she did the exact. opposite. You see, the first alarm bell. rang in October of 2024 when police were. called to a home after all these rumors. started swirling at a local high school. about Crocker and a student. A. 13-year-old boy, we're going to call him. ZG, sat down with deputies and told a. harrowing story about a sleepover that. apparently happened months earlier at. Crocker's house. He said he fell asleep. on a basement couch and woke up to find. Crocker, who was naked, on top of him,

and sexually assaulting him. He told. police he repeatedly told her to get. off, tried to push her away, but to no. use. Other kids at the sleepover. apparently came downstairs and saw her. run and hide, but that was just the. start. As detectives began to dig, more. boys started coming forward with eerily. similar stories. Another 13-year-old. said that Crocker had added him on. Snapchat and sent him videos of her. performing a sex act, which he, by the. way, initially thought was a workout.

video. A 14-year-old boy alleged that. she sexually assaulted him at a parking. lot. And maybe most brazenly, the. complaint details how Crocker added a. 16-year-old boy on Snapchat just one day. before her arrest immediately, turning. the conversation sexual and trying to. arrange for him to come to her house, but she would be taken into custody. The. school district fired her immediately. The charges piled up. Firstdeggree. sexual assault of a child, child. enticement, child sexual exploitation,

secondderee sexual assault. There were. more. And the case entered a lengthy. legal process which included, by the. way, a mental competency exam. And for. months, it seemed that it was going to. be headed to trial. And then in a. Kenosha County courtroom, everything. changed. Faced with seemingly. overwhelming digital evidence, Anna. Marie Crocker stood before a judge and. pleaded guilty. She pleaded guilty to a. suite of charges. Sexual assault, child. enticement, using a computer to.

facilitate a child's sex crime. And the. plea meant that she admitted essentially. to a pattern of predatory behavior that. impacted multiple young lives. But if. you go to the criminal complaint against. Anamarie Crocker, it is just a. chronological map of a collapsing. secret. It begins not with a police. call, but in a high school lunchroom. The document shows the first official. police response was triggered by a. parents call. A deputy was dispatched to. a Twin Lakes home after a father. reported his 13-year-old son had been.

quote forced to have sex with the mother. of his friend. That friend's mother was. Anna Crocker. The boy, again, who we're. calling ZG, told the deputy about a. sleepover the previous winter at. Crocker's house. He described falling. asleep on a basement couch and waking up. to a nightmare. Quote, "While asleep on. the couch, he was woken up by the. defendant who was naked. The defendant. had removed ZG's pants and was on top of. him. But the complaint reveals also. mounting pressure." How ZG's mother had. gotten a frantic text from another mom.

Her son had been confronted at school by. a girl yelling about him having sex with. Crocker. And this boy then tells the mom. that Crocker had been inappropriate with. him and ZG. So when ZG's parents asked. ZG point blank, "Did something happen. here?" He apparently clammed up and then. became physically sick, his mother found. him dry heaving in the bathroom. And he. finally admitted, quote, "I thought I. would never have to think about it again. and said that Crocker had sex with him. and it was not consensual." The next.

day, during a forensic interview, ZG. wrote down the graphic act that he was. forced to perform. He also revealed that. months later, Crocker had texted him. demanding he quote apologized to her for. what happened in the basement and. warning him not to tell anyone. Now, simultaneously, the school resource. officer spoke to another boy, JPF. So, this is the one that was confronted at. lunch by that girl. JPF disclosed that. Crocker had sexually assaulted him in a.

parking lot in August and that they had. exchanged explicit chats and pictures. for a long time. Then you go to October. 10th. Police were called to a third. home. Another 13-year-old boy, CPW, had. reported receiving inappropriate. material from Crocker on Snapchat. He. told investigators she sent a video that. he initially thought was a workout. video. He clicked through, didn't. respond, and said, "I'm too young for. that." A forensic search of Crocker's. phone data would later confirm that they.

exchanged 239 messages in just 3 days. Think about that. And the investigation. really reached its tipping point with. digital evidence. Police examining. Crocker's phone found this hidden. folder. And inside was a video of a. minor engaging in sexually explicit. conduct. And crucially, Crocker admitted. to detectives that she had saved this. video and sent it to another student. This moved the case from just an. allegation to tangible evidence of. possession of child pornography. And by. the way, her Snapchat data showed that.

she had added a 16-year-old boy SDW on. October 9th, 2024. So the day before her. arrest, those messages quickly turned. sexual. Crocker asking if he wanted to. have sex, making plans for him to come. to her house that weekend. She was in. custody before the meeting could happen, thank goodness. But faced with this. avalanche of evidence, multiple. corroborating victims, her own. admissions, the digital trail of child. pornography and messages and. solicitation, the defense seemingly had.

little ground to stand on. The complaint. laid out a clear multi- victim pattern. of predatory behavior. And in court, the. path chosen was not a trial, but a. guilty plea to the most serious charges. This included first-degree child sexual. assault, child sexual exploitation, and. she is going to be sentenced in February. 2026. That is all we have for you right. now here on Sidebar. [music] Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. And as. always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you. should get your podcast. [music] You can.

follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse. Weber. Speak to you next time.