Tyesha Bolden appears in a selfie and a mugshot. (Milwaukee County)
A now-former private school teacher in Wisconsin allegedly had sex with one of her eighth grade students – and then gave him a gun for his 14th birthday before he ran away from home, authorities say.
Tyesha Bolden, 34, stands accused of one count each of child sexual assault in the second degree, and intentionally selling a dangerous weapon to a child, according to Milwaukee County court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She was arrested on Aug. 18 and posted $2,500 bond the next day – on the condition that she have no contact with any child under the age of 16 without supervision.
The defendant hails from Brown Deer, a small suburb of Milwaukee, and previously worked for the Pilgrim Lutheran School in Wauwatosa, a medium-sized city that is part of the broader metropolitan area. She faces over 40 years in prison if convicted as presently charged.
In late July, after the alleged victim ran away from home while joyriding in a relative’s car, his mother called law enforcement and said she suspected he might be staying with Bolden, his teacher at the time, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
The child’s mother suspected her son was likely having “a sexual relationship” with the defendant, she told police, because she had gone through his cellular phone and found several sexually explicit messages and photographs “exchanged between the two.”
A couple of days later, the Brown Deer Police Department visited the private school where Bolden was still working as of July 27.
There, an employee said she had “confronted the defendant about a possible sexual relationship,” according to the complaint. When the Lutheran school employee asked Bolden about that allegation, the teacher allegedly confirmed that the student had “stayed the night at her residence earlier this year.” After allowing the school employee to look through her phone and photograph some of the messages, Bolden was immediately fired and the school called police.
An alleged series of text messages between a teacher and her 8th grade student in Wisconsin detailing an illicit relationship. (Milwaukee County)
A second alleged series of text messages between a teacher and her 8th grade student in Wisconsin detailing an illicit relationship. (Milwaukee County)
“Officer [Daniel] Reed reviewed photographs of these texts, which are un-dated,” the complaint reads. “They include messages where the defendant and [the child] discuss loving each other and the defendant buying [the child] a firearm.”
That gun, it turned out, was a Glock 19, and was recovered the next day when the child was pulled over – still driving the relative’s car – by the West Allis Police Department, according to the complaint. Detectives later determined the defendant purchased the $600 gun from a place called Range USA in Greenfield on June 17. Seized along with the gun, was the child’s light blue iPhone.
A follow-up interview with the boy’s parents revealed the couple grew concerned after their son “began making poor choices and exhibiting concerning behavior,” the complaint says. Among those actions were the child posting images of “a firearm and money on social media.”
“[The child’s] parents indicated they went through his phone when he was sleeping, and they saw messages on his phone to the defendant,” the complaint reads. “In those messages they saw the defendant tell [the child] that she loved him unconditionally. They also observed the defendant had sent a picture of her breasts.”
During the child’s own police interview, he said his relationship with Bolden began in early 2023 when she asked him if he “accidentally” received nude photographs she had sent – telling him “if he did receive them, they were not meant for him,” the complaint says. The child told law enforcement he encouraged his teacher to send the pictures “again” and that by early May she complied with his request.
A third alleged series of text messages between a teacher and her 8th grade student in Wisconsin detailing an illicit relationship. (Milwaukee County)
A fourth alleged series of text messages between a teacher and her 8th grade student in Wisconsin detailing an illicit relationship. (Milwaukee County)
In late May, just before school was out for summer, and after receiving three nude images of his teacher, the child and Bolden engaged in sexual conduct at two separate locations, the child told police.
After that, the child told police, the two worked out the plan whereby he obtained the gun – which he picked out himself.
“He stated the gun was a black and gray Glock 19 and that she delivered it was a box of ammunition and three books for him,” the complaint reads. “He stated he stored the gun under his mattress and other places in his house.”
The relationship ended, the child told police, after he asked Bolden for another gun and money, the complaint says. He said the defendant met him at a mall and delivered $1,000 cash in an educator’s credit union envelope – but “refused” to get him another gun.
“[The child] stated the defendant did not speak with him after this,” according to the complaint.
Included in the complaint are several pages worth of text messages that appear to corroborate the child’s version of events. According to law enforcement, an extraction of the child’s phone shows the pair exchanged over 2,220 text messages between late May and late July.
Bolden is slated to return to court on Aug. 29.
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