Former New Ulm teacher to be sentenced for punishment of student
Feb. 15—NEW ULM — A former teacher in New Ulm pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge this week related to punishment he doled out to a student in 2021.
Eric Dennis Kauffmann, 50, had a plea hearing for malicious punishment of a child not causing substantial bodily harm Wednesday in Brown County District Court.
Kauffman entered an Alford plea, meaning he maintained his innocence but acknowledged the prosecution's evidence likely would've resulted in a guilty verdict at trial, according to court documents. The plea petition indicates he won't face jail time but will surrender his teaching license and take no teaching position while he's on probation.
He also would have two misdemeanors, one for fifth-degree assault and one for disorderly conduct, dismissed as part of the agreement.
Kauffmann was initially placed on leave from New Ulm High School in November 2021 before resigning later in the month. The incident occurred in October 2021 during a physical education class in the school's weight room, according to a criminal complaint.
Surveillance video reportedly showed Kauffmann getting in a student's face after another student wasn't correctly doing an exercise. One of the students was on a bench at the time and fell off it as he got close, followed by him grabbing her ankles and picking her up, according to the complaint.
The student reportedly wasn't physically harmed in the incident.
Kauffmann's sentencing hearing is set for April 3.
