Wisconsin Teacher Gets Prison for Sex with Boy - Update

(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)

Under a plea agreement both the prosecution and the defense recommended only jail time for Shannon Cardinal, but in the end the judge decided she needed to serve two years in prison instead.

Cardinal has to start her prison sentence by October 14.

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Wisconsin Teacher Guilty of Sex with Boy - Update
[Previous 5/25/13 post]
(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) Yesterday, former Mayville High School Spanish teacher Shannon Cardinal, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy.

Five counts of sexual assault and six counts of child enticement were dismissed.

Cardinal appeared in court with her attorney Christopher VanWagner. Fond du Lac County Assistant District Attorney Devra Ayala appeared for the state. Cardinal cried as she read her plea.

Ayala said the state agreed to the plea agreement due to Cardinal’s lack of prior record and potential penalties. While age and position may have been a factor in the case, Ayala said the potential sentence for one count of sexual assault of a student by staff is “appropriate,” mostly due to her lack of prior criminal record.

A sentencing date awaits completion of a pre-sentence investigation.

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Wisconsin Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 4/29/12 post]
(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) A 43-year-old Spanish teacher at Mayville High School, Shannon Cardinal, has been accused of engaging in an enduring sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.

Cardinal faces six counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff and six counts of child enticement.

The complaint says in spring of 2012, the two began to “text each other back and forth and that their relationship escalated from that point.” Initially, the texts were about “school stuff and random events and then the texts progressed into talking about problems the two of them were having and deeper conversations.”

The criminal complaint says the first time Cardinal and the victim had sex was in December 2011. The paperwork says Cardinal picked up the victim and they went to her house in the Village of Oakfield.

The two also allegedly met for sexual relations in Marion, Iowa.

Cardinal was booked into custody and released on $5,000 bond.