Teacher had sex with 12-year-old repeatedly, then threatened him with gun

Police: Teacher had sex with 12-year-old repeatedly, then threatened him with gun

November 20th 2009

The 12-year-old boy saw Rebecca O'Malley-Tietz standing in her bathroom with her hand behind her back.

According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday, his former teacher's aide asked him if he had told anyone about their sexual relationship. He told her he hadn't.

She took a gun from behind her back, put the muzzle under his chin and threatened to hurt him and his family if he did, the complaint states.



Pierce County prosecutors charged O'Malley-Tietz, 34, of River Falls, Wisconsin, with first-degree child sexual assault. The boy told investigators they had sexual contact as many as 40 times.

The complaint, which includes conflicting stories from O'Malley-Tietz and the child, alleges that O'Malley-Tietz had repeated sexual contact from the winter of 2007 to late spring of 2008 with the student she assisted at Harbor School, a special needs program in River Falls.

She was fired in 2008 because of concerns she had inappropriate relationships with students, staff and parents in the district, according to a statement by River Falls police.

O'Malley-Tietz could not be reached Thursday for comment, and the boy declined to comment. The Pioneer Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

According to the boy's description of events in the criminal complaint, the two had sex 30 to 40 times, including at least once at the school. But O'Malley-Tietz told investigators the two had sex only once, when the child forced himself on her and she kicked him off.

In 2007, O'Malley-Tietz, who had a state license as a special education aide, took the child into her home with permission from his mother. The mother was fighting with her former husband and asked O'Malley-Tietz to look after the boy, according to the child's account in the complaint.

After a few days, O'Malley-Tietz started coming on to him, and the two engaged in sex in her house, in her husband's car and in a room at the Harbor School, according to the complaint. The child said he kept silent because he feared what O'Malley-Tietz would do to him and his family.

Officials on Thursday said they are not considering charges in the gun accusations right now but may do so at a later date.

In April 2008, police interviewed both O'Malley-Tietz and the child about an alleged "prolonged hug" in class that led to a district report. The police investigation didn't lead to charges, and no sexual relationship was discovered.

O'Malley-Tietz was fired from the district later that year. Upon her termination, she alleged that she was sexually harassed. The district performed an investigation but found no grounds, said Tom Westerhaus, River Falls schools superintendent.

"We're fully working with the River Falls Police Department in this investigation," he said.

The boy said he once tried telling a friend, who didn't believe him, according to the complaint.

On Friday, the boy told county social workers, who contacted police. O'Malley-Tietz was arrested Wednesday after an interview with police in which she told a completely different story.

She said she was "more like a mother" to the child. According to the complaint, she said any sexual contact the two had was nonconsensual; the child spanked and kissed her and then forced her to have intercourse, she said.

O'Malley-Tietz reportedly exhibited strange behavior toward the end of the interview with police, referring to herself in the third person. According to the complaint, she said, "My name is Tiffany. I'm asking for Rebecca's dad, because he will know how to get Rebecca back." Her father accompanied her to the police department for questioning but said O'Malley-Tietz did not suffer from any mental illness, according to the complaint.

Westerhaus said the district was not aware of whether O'Malley-Tietz suffered from mental illness but she showed no signs of it during her tenure as a teacher's aide.

O'Malley-Tietz was released Thursday on a $25,000 signature bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 12 at the Pierce County Courthouse.

http://www.wqow.com/Global/story.asp?S=11538882