New court document details October 2022 altercation between Two Rivers teacher and 11-year-old student
MANITOWOC — An amended criminal complaint filed Dec. 21 details the alleged attack of a student by a former Two Rivers teacher.
According to the complaint, Paul G. Gehrke, 49, is accused of child abuse and disorderly conduct stemming from an altercation between him and an 11-year-old student at L.B. Clarke Middle School Oct. 21, 2022.
A portion of the incident was recorded by a security camera in the school's hallway. According to the complaint, Gehrke was seen waiting in the door to his classroom and waiting for several seconds before reaching back in for something. Two seconds later, he reappears, dragging an 11-year-old child, who is off his feet, out of the classroom by the arm of his sweatshirt.
The video shows Gehrke dragging the child to nearby lockers before he lets go. As he was dragged, the child's shoes fell off. The complaint said Gehrke picked up the shoes and slammed them on the ground next to the child and started yelling.
The complaint states that Gehrke yelled: "I've had it. Knock it off. I have permission from your father. Now I've had it with you."
While Gehrke yelled at the child, the child sat on the floor holding one of his ankles like he was in pain. Gehrke then walked down the hallway, out of camera shot, and the child continued to sit on the floor, holding his ankle and crying. A short time later, L.C. Clarke Principal Tim Wester approached the child and helped him down the hallway to the student services office.
The complaint said the child's mother provided photos that showed bruises on the child's ankle and leg.
In an interview with the child, the child told police he was in Gehrke's computer class and asked if he could go to the bathroom and said Gehrke told him no.
He then told police he was on YouTube on his ChromeBook during the last five minutes of the class. Gehrke was able to see what the child was doing from his own computer and remotely closed the window. The child repeatedly reopened YouTube and Gehrke repeatedly closed it, until the last time when Gehrke got up, closed the child's ChromeBook and told him to get out of the classroom.
"I was baby-stepping toward the door," the child told police, according to the complaint. "I knew something was going to happen, so I backed up, he lunged into the classroom and grabbed me by the arm."
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Gehrke, who is no longer a teacher for the Two Rivers Public School District, was charged with felony child abuse-recklessly causing harm and misdemeanor disorderly conduct in a case that was filed Dec. 19, 2022.
There was a status conference in his case on Dec. 20 at the Manitowoc County Courthouse and there is another status conference scheduled for Feb. 1, 2024.
Fulfilling our obligation: This report is part of the Herald Times Reporter's mission to follow criminal cases from arrest to their conclusion.
Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Court document details altercation between Two Rivers teacher, student
