GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A judge rejected a plea deal Thursday, at least for now, for a former high school staff member accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage student.
Courtney Roznowski, 32, faces five charges: three counts of sexual assault of a student by a school staff member, and two counts of exposing intimate parts to a child.
Prosecutors and the defense agreed Roznowski would enter a plea to one of the exposure counts, while a second would be dismissed but considered at sentencing. All three counts of the sexual assault by a staff member would be dismissed.
But Judge Donald Zuidmulder said he would not accept the deal.
“I don’t believe this agreement complies/meets the public interest,” he said.
The judge instructed both sides to offer written arguments as to why the plea deal should be accepted. He will rule on the matter Aug. 27. Either a plea will be accepted then, or the matter will be scheduled for trial, the judge said.
According to the criminal complaint, Roznowski was para-professional at Southwest High School. She eventually admitted to having sex with the boy two times, and that she and the boy “love each other.” She did acknowledge to police that the sexual contact was illegal.
The teen also eventually admitted to the sexual contact, at one point telling police, “Well it is every kid’s dream to do a teacher,” the complaint states. The teen also said he was the one who ended the relationship.
When Roznowski was arrested, the Green Bay Area Public School District placed her on unpaid leave. She resigned last fall, school board minutes show.
