APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A former Appleton teacher has been arrested for having an inappropriate relationship with a middle school-aged female student.
46-year-old Brian Dimmer was a teacher at Wilson Middle School and coach at Appleton West High School until he resigned his position.
Dimmer was arrested on Monday after a school resource officer was notified of online contact between Dimmer and the student just over a week ago.
“Everyone wants to protect our children in our community. So our SROs, as soon as they were made aware of this information a little over a week ago, an investigation began. And an arrest has already been made as of [Monday]…This is one reason why – among many other reasons – why it’s so critical for us to have school resource officers,” said Officer Meghan Cash. “The relationships that they build with students, the ability for them to understand how the school functions, how students can reach out to them, and they are trained in investigations of this nature…From our school resource officers to our patrol officers to our special units as well. So this is one of those cases where, again, it takes a team to be able to come to a resolution and to do it quickly.”
Cash says, based on the information the department currently has, that this was the only incident. However, if anyone has information related to this case or any additional incident is asked to contact Appleton Police.
Dimmer was arrested on the following recommended charges:
- Exposing Genitals – 948.10(1)(a)
- Exposing a Child to Harmful Narrative – 948.11(1)
- Soliciting an Intimate Representation – 942.09(4)(a)
- Causing a Child to View or Listen to Sexual Activity – 948.055(2)(b)
No formal charges have yet been filed against Dimmer.
As noted by the charges, the alleged relationship didn’t escalate past online or texting communication.
“We’re thankful that this relationship didn’t get any further and that we were able to stop that,” Cash told WTAQ News. “An incident like this is a very helpful reminder to parents to just be aware of what your children are doing, be aware of the platforms they’re on, who they’re talking to, and what is the content of the conversations.”
Police say this is an ongoing investigation and additional information will be released later.
Anyone with any information related to this incident should contact the Appleton Police Department at (920) 832-5500.
If you are a victim of sexual assault, police are ready to respond.
“If you need us, if you’re a victim of sexual assault, we’ll be here to answer that call. If you wish to speak to somebody regarding a sexual assault that you believe may be happening or has happened, there are other resources like the Sexual Assault Crisis Center as well,” Cash said.
The Sexual Assault Crisis Center also has a 24-hour hotline, (920) 733-8119.
