Wetzell may have been in trouble before

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When Rock Falls resident and former educator Mike Wetzell left his teaching position in Henry County and took a job as a dean of students in a Montgomery County district, he came recommended and with a resume that showed he was once a trusted officer of the law. Now Wetzell, 31, is charged with the sexual assault of a 17-year-old Litchfield high school student in Montgomery County. Those charges were filed in March. He subsequently was charged in Henry County where officials allege he inappropriately touched a 13-year-old Annawan School District student - an incident that occurred in September 2006. Although the second set of charges came to the attention of police well after the fact, prosecutors say Annawan school officials knew about the incident. It also appears the district sent Wetzell to this new job in Litchfield with a letter of recommendation. Litchfield Superintendent Mike Juenger confirmed that his district received a letter of recommendation on Wetzell's behalf from the Annawan School District administration; however, Juenger would not say specifically who wrote it. Annawan Superintendent Joe Buresh did not wish to comment for this article, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. He referred all questions to the Henry County state's attorney's office. During the hiring process, the Litchfield district made follow-up calls with Wetzell's previous employers, including the Rock Falls Police Department, where he was an officer from 1999 to 2001. During his time on the force, there is no record of disciplinary action or commendations. "When you look and see he worked as a policeman and worked in a school district and successfully completed [2] years there, you feel fairly comfortable this is a quality person," Juenger said. Litchfield administrators likely could not have imagined that less than a year later, police would accuse Wetzell of allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old student and providing her with alcohol. In February, Wetzell submitted a letter of resignation from the Litchfield School District effective at the end of the 2007-08 school year because his family wanted to move back to Rock Falls. They moved back, while Wetzell finished the school year. Wetzell was arrested in April. Wetzell has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in Montgomery County, and is free on a $100,000 bond. If convicted in that case, Wetzell faces 4 to 15 years in jail. Wetzell's wife, Vanessa, has filed for divorce in Whiteside County. In July, police in Henry County alleged that in September 2006, when Wetzell was a teacher in Annawan, he slapped a 13-year-old girl's buttocks after asking her for back rubs. The incident was reported to the school at the time, but not the police, said Henry County State's Attorney Terrence Patton. "I don't know if she was specifically asked if [the contact] was sexual in nature," Patton said. "People will have to make up their own mind. ... She wasn't a licensed masseuse." According to the Kewanee Star Courier, Henry County Sheriff's Department Detective Sgt. Charles Tornquist was tipped off by Litchfield Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson about the possible incident. Tornquist testified in court that the school conducted its own investigation in 2006 and determined the allegations were unfounded, the Star Courier reported. In April, Tornquist interviewed the student and reviewed a copy of the statement she wrote for the school investigation. The stories were consistent with one another. Tornquist also questioned the student's friend who witnessed the alleged incident and she confirmed the story, the Star Courier reported. Wetzell now is charged there with felony aggravated battery and faces 2 to 5 years in prison or 30 months probation, and a $25,000 fine. He has pleaded not guilty, and is free on a $50,000 bond. Wetzell's Carbondale-based attorney in both cases, Tim Capps, said he has subpoenaed school records from the Annawan district, but would not comment on either cases. "We're eager to go to trial," Capps said. "... These charges will stand or fall on their own merit."