By Shereen Siewert
A 42-year-old special education teacher who was convicted of assaulting a 15-year-old boy he was mentoring will spend four years in prison, after he was sentenced Tuesday in Portage County Circuit Court.
Jo Leung Pang resigned from his position as special education teacher at P.J. Jacobs Junior High School in Stevens Point after being placed on administrative leave in January 2020. He was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a child at a plea hearing in November but was sentenced Feb. 23, following a presentencing investigation.
One count of repeated sexual assault of the same child was dismissed but read into the record at sentencing.
Police say the sexual assaults did not happen on school property. But the victim is a boy that was assigned to Pang by the Portage Co. Health and Human Services Dept. for mentoring, prosecutors said.
On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Robert Shannon issued a determinate sentence of four years in prison followed by 10 years of extended supervision. A determinate sentence is one that is definite and not subject to review by a parole board or other agency, according to the Cornell School of Law.
As part of his sentence, Pang will have another psychosexual evaluation performed and comply with recommendations for counseling and treatment. He will also register as a sex offender and is not allowed to be involved in any occupation with any unsupervised contact with minors.
Pang was given five days credit for time served while awaiting trial.
