By Shereen Siewert
A former substitute teacher is facing felony charges after accusations surfaced that she sexually assaulted a boy she met while teaching and sent him numerous nude photos of herself.
The 60-year-old Medford woman allegedly met the teen while she was teaching at the city’s alternative high school.
Now, Pamela J. Scheid faces charges of child enticement, exposing a child to harmful material, sexual assault of a child and sexual intercourse with a child, The charges carry a combined maximum penalty of more than 35 years in the Wisconsin Prison System.
Scheid is also a former coordinator for the Taylor County Literacy Council.
An investigation began in 2017 by deputies in Taylor County amid allegations that Scheid admitted to a therapist that she had inappropriate communication with a teenage high school student via Snapchat. Scheid allegedly told the therapist that she believed the action wasn’t criminal because “17-year-olds are treated as adults,” and that exchanging explicit messages wasn’t “super creepy” because the boy would soon turn 18, according to court documents.
At that time, Scheid told police she made the story up because she wanted to be evaluated for bipolar disorder, court documents state.
But in June 2018, a woman who was dating the boy discovered a naked photo of Scheid on her boyfriend’s cell phone and told her mother, who called police. The victim said Scheid sent him the photo when he was 17 along with a note that she was drinking and feeling “frisky,” court documents state.
The teen told police he had sexual contact with Scheid twice and that she sent him between six and 10 photos.
Scheid quit teaching in 2016 but interacted with the student after her departure through her role with the Literacy Council, prosecutors say.
Scheid is not in custody. Her initial appearance to face the charges filed against her is set for June 2.
