Crime & Safety

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.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.

Find out what's happening in Caledoniawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.