BURLINGTON, Wis. — A 57-year-old teacher's aide was charged with three counts of repeated sexual assault for inappropriately touching 10-year-old female students at Dyer Elementary in the City of Burlington.
Daniel D. Powers attended his initial hearing on Wednesday and a judge issued $50,000 cash bond. He is to be placed on house arrest with GPS monitoring.
TMJ4 does not normally use mughots in our reporting. However, due to the possibility of there being more victims, we have decided to use his mugshot in this report.
A criminal complaint states several reports were give to the Racine County Sheriff's Office regarding a teacher's aide at Dyer Elementary in the City of Burlington. People reported the aide had been inappropriately touching female students, mostly those in the 5th grade. The teacher's aide was identified as Powers.
Investigators interviewed three 10-year-old girls in the 5th grade class. One reported Powers would touch her almost every day in ways that made her uncomfortable. She said it happened during the 2021-22 school year.
A second student reported inappropriate touching happening during the same school year. She said that it was regular and it often happened more often when teachers were not in the classroom.
The third student reported witnessing Powers touch female classmates every day. This student also reported that Powers would touch more when teachers were not around.
The complaint states as of its filing on Wednesday, there are "numerous" additional girls from the school awaiting forensic interviewing.
During Powers' initial court appearance, the assistant district attorney said the sheriff's office was working on multiple reports from upwards of 15 children.
The Racine County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Tuesday that Powers worked at the Burlington Area School District for 15 years. He was placed on administrative leave on April 13 and terminated April 19.
A Dyer Elementary School parent spoke to TMJ4 news on the condition she remained anonymous to protect her family. Her child is not involved in the criminal investigation.
"He was the crossing guard. So I would talk to him almost every day when I would see him and he was involved with the pool," the mother said.
The parent said she was frustrated to learn about the situation from other parents and her kid before the school.
"We need transparency and need to know what is happening as the parents we have a right to know," she said.
If you believe your child has been victimized by Powers, please contact Investigator Andrew Willis at 262.636.3323 or andrew.willis@racinecounty.com.
The Burlington Area School District said in a statement, "The Burlington Area School District recognizes that every day, parents and guardians entrust the district with their children. When there is a violation of this trust, we take it seriously as the safety and well-being of students will always be a top priority. We do not tolerate employee misconduct, and therefore we took swift action internally in the incident that has now been reported by the Racine County Sheriff’s Office."
Read their full statement below:
