Ex-teacher sentenced to 5 years

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A Rock Falls man, who was formerly a local police officer turned educator, pleaded guilty Thursday to the aggravated battery of a female student in Henry County. Michael J. Wetzell, 31, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for the felony charge. In 2006, while Wetzell was a physical education teacher in the Annawan School District, he slapped the buttocks of a then 13-year-old girl after he asked her for back rubs. That incident did not come to the attention of the Henry County Sheriff's Department until after Wetzell was charged in March in Montgomery County for sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl at Litchfield High School. Police in Montgomery County say Wetzell also provided that girl with alcohol. Wetzell was the dean of students at Litchfield High School last year. Court records indicate he moved back to Rock Falls when the charge was filed. The former Rock Falls police officer is scheduled to appear in Montgomery County on Monday for his next court appearance, which will be a pre-trial conference.