By Shereen Siewert
WAUSAU — Trial dates have been set for a former Wausau East High School employee accused of sexually assaulting two students.
Kurtis Hornby, 48, is facing charges of child enticement, sexual assault of a student by school staff, and second degree sexual assault of a child. A three-day jury trial for both cases is now set to begin Jan. 7, 2020.
Hornby, was director of the tech crew at Wausau East during the 2016-2017 school year and in the summer of 2017. He is no longer employed at the district.
According to court documents, police have been in contact with a former foreign exchange student who attended East during Hornby’s tenure there. The student, whose name is being withheld to protect her identity as an alleged victim, told police Hornby picked her up one evening from the home where she was staying and took her to Marathon Park. There, he allegedly unbuttoned her shirt and fondled her breasts, police said.
In a separate case filed in January 2018, Hornby was charged with second degree sexual assault of a child after a 15-year-old student told police Hornby reached beneath her shirt, groped her breasts and put his hand under the waistband of her pants. The student told police Hornby assaulted her on several occasions in the school auditorium.
An investigation into the allegations began Sept. 1, 2018. Hornby was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 6, 2018 and was fired nine days later, according to school officials.
Hornby is free on a $5,000 signature bond. He was ordered to have no contact with anyone younger than 18 except for children of his own.
