Horlick High School Gym Teacher Charged With Child Enticement
The Racine County District Attorney's Office charged a former Racine Police officer and current Horlick High School Gym teacher with child enticement.
A Horlick High School gym teacher who is a former Racine Police officer was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office with child enticement.
Thomas Adams, 61, of Caledonia, is accused of enticing a 15-year-old girl over a two-day period at the school, according to a press release by the Racine Police Department. Adams was arrested at his home after the department concluded its investigation.
If convicted, Adams faces up to 25 years in prison and/or fines up to $100,000.
Adams appeared in court via closed-circuit television at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, where Court Commissioner John Bjelejac ordered him to stay away from Horlick High School, have no contact with minors unless another adult is present, and not to contact the victim in the case or her immediate family. Adams will remain in jail unless he pays $20,000 in cash.
According to the criminal complaint, Adams allegedly asked the 15-year-old girl to expose herself in return for getting a good grade in the weight room on Feb. 7.
The girl told police that Adams allegedly told her “you’re sexy,” “you’re going to get me fired,” “(expletive), you’re sexy.” He also made remarks about her clothing, and physical appearance.
During one instance, the girl forgot her gym clothes and Adams asked her what she was wearing under her sweatshirt. The girl told police that Adams asked her to "let me take a peek" in exchange for getting a good grade, and he asked her to prove that she wasn't wearing a shirt under her gym shirt. The girl refused and during class he kept making inappropriate comments to her.
The girl told police that Adams' comments made her uncomfortable and she thought his behavior was "creepy." The next day, Adams told the girl, “you could have gotten an A+++ if you followed through with our deal, but there’s always next time.”
Adams is next due in court at 9 a.m. Feb. 20.
Stacy Tapp, director of communications for Racine Unified, said the district has already begun an internal investigation.
"We are required by law to conduct own investigation, which we've already started it," Tapp said. "We will continue that investigation and we will cooperate with the Racine Police Department as necessary."
Racine Police are interested in gathering additional information from the community about this crime.
If you have additional information, please call the Racine Police Department Investigation unit at (262) 635-7756. Or you can call Crimestoppers at (262) 636-9330 or text RACS plus the message to CRIMES (274637) and referring to Tipsoft I.D. #TIP417 with your text message.
Patch editor Heather Asiyanbi contributed to this report.
SkinnyDude
4:19 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
I hold my judgement on this one . IF its true he is a clearly a creep and needs to be canned. I suppose the Teachers Union will fight for him. , But it might be a he said she said case. I would need to know the facts and his defense as well as the history of the accuser. If it is true .Its highly unlikely she was the 1st girl so maybe others will come forward. My gut tells me its likely True, but the facts need explored before I hang the guy .
Ed Holladay
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
sounds fair. I am surprised he is actually locked in jail until the trial. Extraordinarily bad judgement if it is true.
Rob Winsall
4:19 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wow...looks like he has enjoyed careers that allow him to dominate and control others. Wonder how many "deals" he has made over the years. I'd like to know why he left the.police department.
Rob Winsall
4:19 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
To become a gym teacher??
Richard Head
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
It pays good. $51,550 on the check and $24,003 on benefits. From DPI.
Denise Lockwood
4:31 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Hi guys, just a heads up... I've got the comments section on manual approval so that things don't get off topic/inaapropriate. This means that if you submit something and it meets our terms of service, it'll be approved. However, I don't plan on babysitting the story all night. So, if you submit something and it doesn't show up right away, that's why. I'll check on this at 6 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and in the morning. Just thought you should know.
C. Sanders
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Let the Court deal with it.
Anon5563
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
I have known Tom for about 6 years now. His humor is a lot like that; he makes questionable comments towards people. I don't know if he meant it as a joke or was being serious. Either way, it was inappropriate and I hope he and others learn that this is no way to address people.
Jamie
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
He used to be my.wrestling coach I hope he's innocent but guess we'll see
John Reshki
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Adams is a good guy. The girl probably misunderstood him, heard him wrong, or even is just being an evil little troll. Before any of you can even say a word about him, know the facts or else just shut up and talk about something else.
heyhey
7:26 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
To everyone who wants to quickly jump on this poor, wrongly accused man, stop judging after only hearing the wrong side of the story. Mr. Adams was my health teacher my freshman year (2009) and my study hall teacher my senior year (2012). Both years, he was an amazing listener and a great teacher. Within the first few days of meeting this man, you know he is someone you can confide in with anything. I am appalled anyone would put such serious accusations on him and I do not believe it for a minute. As my study hall teacher my senior year, I would spend the whole period talking to him about literally every aspect of my life. He is someone you can look to as a friendly listening ear as opposed to a strict teacher, and I would never believe such terrible accusations.
SkinnyDude
10:51 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
If the girl is lying for other reasons . It is a guys worse nitemare. It damages his reputation reguardless of the actual outcome . There typically is little or no punishment for an accuser even if theyre Lying .Especially at when its a 15 yer old kid. Tough case to ponder with this very limited details. At this point it appears to be an nothing more than Accusation . Remember the Duke rape case hoax.....it happens ! Wait for the facts is all you can do in this unfortunate case.
Denise Lockwood
8:06 am on Friday, February 15, 2013
Hey guys,
I'm going to shut down the comments section on this because A. I don't have time today to moderate them B. it's natural to want to debate whether or not the girl is telling the truth, but because she's a minor I don't want to carry this too far. Yes sometimes people lie and yes sometimes teachers do inappropriate things. But the fact of the matter is that we need to let the courts decide.