A Wisconsin woman accused of sexually abusing a 16-year-old student she met while working at a high school has been sentenced to six months in jail – with the judge calling her “the nightmare of every parent.”
Courtney Roznowski, 32, pleaded no contest to one count of exposing intimate parts to a child, after a plea deal saw the more serious charge of sexual assault of a student by a staff member dropped, WLUK-TV reported.
“You are, frankly, the nightmare of every parent,” Judge Donald Zuidmulder told the former teaching assistant during Friday’s sentencing. “Because what a parent assumes is that their child is in a safe environment with trusting people.”
“Whatever punishment I impose on you,” the judge added, “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.”
Roznowski met the 16-year-old boy while employed as a support staffer at Southwest High School. However, the graver charge of sexual assault of a student by a staff member was dropped as she was no longer under contract to the Green Bay School District when the two had sex.
Roznowski confessed to starting a sexual relationship with the student in July 2019, after acting as his mentor, a police report obtained by WBAY shows.
The boy confirmed the relationship and told investigators that Roznowski had said he was “special and deserved special things.”
He also suggested that it was “every kid’s dream to do a teacher,” according to the report.
Roznowski said she was experiencing “extensive personal issues” in her life and had developed an alcohol problem at the time.
She also admitted in a statement to the judge that what she did was wrong, and claimed she had since turned her life around and quit boozing.
“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,” Roznowski said.
The judge placed Roznowski on probation for three years and ordered her to write a letter of apology to staff at the school. She also has to stay sober and is no longer permitted to work anywhere with minors.