Fired Kenosha teacher accused of 'grooming' student pleads not guilty
KENOSHA, Wis. - A former Kenosha teacher accused of grooming a 14-year-old student pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, May 15.
Prosecutors said 29-year-old Christian Enwright was a teacher at Kenosha School of Technology. They said he sent hundreds of Snapchat messages to a student, some with sexual implications.
"I don’t see how looking at these images, anyone could say that it was appropriate for a teacher to send these to a child," prosecutor Alexandra K. Smathers said. "It is disturbing and disorderly."
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Enwright is facing 22 misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. A detective on the case described his behavior as "grooming," according to court filings.
According to a criminal complaint, the Kenosha County Department of Family Services received an anonymous report on Feb. 2, claiming Enwright had an inappropriate relationship with the student.
He pleaded not guilty to each count on Wednesday and his attorney is trying to get the charges dismissed.
"I think the criminal complaint is completely lacking in establishing that at the time, these alleged messages were sent that they intended to cause or provoke a disturbance," defense attorney Jason Luczak said.
Instead, Enwright left the courtroom in custody with a $5,000 cash bond.
The charges have been striking a chord with parents in the Kenosha Unified School District.
"It’s sickening," said Josie Benson, a parent. "I think things need to be vetted better for who is working with our children."
Likewise for the attorneys representing the 14-year-old’s family.
"This is catastrophic for the family, it’s catastrophic for their child," the family’s attorney Michael Karp said. "This is not going to go away quickly, and this is something that’s going to sit with her for the rest of her life.
The attorneys representing the student's family say they plan to file claims against both the school district and Enwright this week. Those could eventually lead to lawsuits.
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They also say there's a repeated history of teacher misconduct in KUSD and they want to open up a dialogue for administrators to meet with experts to start making changes.
During a police interview, the complaint states Enwright admitted he communicated with the student via Snapchat – but denied he had done anything wrong. He said he only sent the photos and texts because he was "trying to raise her confidence and make her feel better about herself."
On Sunday, May 12, the school district confirmed to FOX6 News that Enwright had been fired.
