Then in January 2020, Kruchten was arrestedafter a school field trip to Minnesota where students discovered hidden cameras in their hotel rooms.
Kruchten pleaded guilty a year later to federal charges including attempting to produce child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The charges stemmed from two previous incidents in Wisconsin.
The federal judge at Kruchten’s sentencing revealed 137 victims were involved in the case across numerous field trips, court records show.
Ten of the students later sued Kruchten and the Madison Metropolitan School District, arguing the district had given Kruchten broad authority and discretion, which allowed him to secretly film students and violate their constitutional rights.
Kruchten admitted in a lawsuit deposition that he filmed students in their hotel rooms dating back to 2016, according to the deposition transcript.
But while the lawsuit ultimately led to a settlement with Kruchten last year, the school district was dismissed from the case. Three students involved in the lawsuit told the Cap Times they hoped the legal pressure would spur the district to overhaul its policies and training practices to prevent educator sexual misconduct from happening again.
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More.
and:
Years after David Kruchten’s arrest, MMSD policies and training still fall short of researcher recommendations to prevent educator sexual misconduct
Former students speak out, saying MMSD didn’t do enough to protect them