SHAWANO — A former Gresham choir teacher already facing multiple child pornography and sexual assault charges is now facing an additional 92 counts of possessing child pornography, following a forensic examination of his computer.
Timothy J. Schmidt, 70, had reached a plea agreement with prosecutors on previous child sex charges and was scheduled to attend a plea hearing on Thursday. But the new charges, filed in Shawano County Circuit Court, could complicate the terms of that agreement.
Schmidt, who had a one-year contract with the Gresham School District for the 2016-2017 school year, resigned in April 2017 as the investigation unfolded.
According to the Shawano Leader, investigators with the Stockbridge-Munsee Police Department met last year with a parent of a Gresham Community School student reporting suspicious activity between Schmidt and her 16-year-old daughter.
The allegations detail suspected activity tracing back to October 2016.
The investigation revealed emails between Schmidt and the student that included discussion of sexual contact, according to the Shawano Leader Report, as well as alleged exchanges of nude photos.
The girl also told police about alleged sexual encounters with Schmidt and gifts he had allegedly given her, some of which were sexual in nature, according to court filings.
Police say Schmidt was warned by school officials about inappropriate behavior including giving the girl a ride home and having lunch with her in his office with the door locked.
In the new case, a Shawano County Sheriff’s Department forensic examination of Schmidt’s computer turned up more than 1,000 images of suspected child pornography including sexually explicit images children as young as 3 years old, according to the criminal complaint.
Schmidt will appear Thursday in Shawano County Circuit Court for an initial court appearance.
He has been held on a $100,000 cash bond since his arrest in April 2017.
